A  RETROSPECT  OF 
FORTY  YEARS 

1825    :«SJ     1865 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

1825-1865 


A  RETROSPECT  OF 
FORTY  YEARS 

1825-1865 

BY 

WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 


EDITED    BY   HIS    DAUGHTER 

HARRIET  ALLEN   BUTLER 


WITH    PORTRAITS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS 
MCMXI 


COPYRIGHT,  1911,  BY 
HARRIET  ALLEN  BUTLER 


TO 

THE    GRANDCHILDREN 

FOR    WHOM,   AT   HER   REQUEST,    THEIR 

GRANDFATHER 

IN  THE  CLOSING  YEARS  OF  HIS    LIFE,  AND  WITH  FAILING 
EYESIGHT,    DICTATED    THESE 

REMINISCENCES 

THEIR    GRANDMOTHER 

MARY    RUSSELL    BUTLER 

PRESENTS   THIS   VOLUME 

WITH   THE   HOPE   THAT   THE   HIGH   IDEALS,  THE   PURITY 

OF    LIFE,    AND   THE    DEVOTION   TO   DUTY   WHICH 

CHARACTERIZED  HIM   WILL    EVER    BE 

AN    INSPIRATION    TO    THEM 


PREFACE 

IN  recalling  any  important  undertaking  in  one's  life, 
or  in  that  of  another,  there  is  always  some  especially  asso 
ciated  place  which  stands  out  with  peculiar  distinctness. 

Such  recollections,  as  far  as  this  volume  is  concerned, 
cluster  about  the  corner  of  a  certain  old  leather-covered 
sofa  in  that  room  of  our  home  which  has  always  been 
known  as  "The  Study."  There  my  father,  in  the  early 
days  of  "  Round  Oak,"  pondered  legal  problems  or  amused 
the  baby  on  his  knee  (sometimes  doing  both  simultane 
ously),  and  there  we  can  remember  him,  after  his  return 
from  the  city,  at  the  end  of  a  laborious  day,  still  finding 
time  and  energy  to  tell  his  little  children  the  next  chapter 
of  some  thrilling  tale  which  often  for  weeks  and  even  for 
months  would  hold  them  spellbound  by  the  narrator's 
charm  and  wit. 

On  that  same  sofa  do  those  children,  now  men  and 
women,  picture  their  father  in  his  declining  years,  and 
there,  in  time,  came  the  little  ones  of  the  next  generation 
to  listen  to  famous  stories  retold  and  to  original  fairy  tales. 
Often  they  found  him  there  when  for  hours  he  had  been 
dictating  these  reminiscences — reminiscences  written  at 
the  earnest  desire  of  my  mother — intended  chiefly  for  his 
grandchildren,  never  seen  by  his  own  eyes,  heard  by  him 

vii 


PREFACE 

only  as  they  fell  from  his  own  lips,  and  in  the  main  never 
read  to  him  for  revision. 

As  many  of  my  father's  most  vital  memories  clustered 
about  the  Civil  War,  they  naturally  led  him  into  a  discus 
sion  of  its  causes;  and  in  this  book,  besides  the  narrative 
of  my  father's  early  life,  will  be  found  a  continuous  and  suc 
cinct  account  of  the  growth  of  the  anti-slavery  sentiment. 

In  editing  at  the  request  of  my  mother  these  dictated 
writings,  I  have  endeavored  to  verify  all  quotations  and 
dates.  It  has  been  sometimes  necessary  to  reconstruct 
sentences,  to  make  a  few  transpositions  and  to  insert  a 
few  explanatory  notes;  but  nothing  has  been  done  that 
would  interfere  with  my  father's  style  or  that  would 
change  the  design  he  had  in  mind.  Only,  the  deep 
longing  remains — that  he,  himself,  had  been  able  to  re 
vise  the  work,  and  to  bring  it  to  that  high  degree  of 
perfection  which  invariably  characterized  his  finished 
literary  efforts. 

On  examining  a  number  of  old  letters  I  have  found 
much  relating  to  my  father's  boyhood  some  of  which  I 
have  incorporated  into  the  narrative.  Throughout  the 
work  I  have  also  scattered  selections  illustrative  of  the 
poet  nature  with  which  he  was  so  generously  endowed. 

It  has  been  thought  fitting  to  add  to  this  volume  the 
Memorial  read  by  Judge  George  C.  Holt  before  the  As 
sociation  of  the  Bar  of  the  City  of  New  York,  containing  an 
account  of  the  principal  cases  in  which  the  Lawyer  estab 
lished  and  sustained  his  professional  reputation.  There 
have  also  been  added  the  Memorials  presented  and  read 

viii 


PREFACE 

before  the  Appellate  Division  of  the  Supreme  Court,  First 
Department,  October  22,  1902,  and  before  the  United 
States  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District  of  New 
York,  on  behalf  of  the  Admiralty  Bar,  October  28,  1902; 
and  finally  the  address  delivered  March  20,  1911,  by  the 
Hon.  Alton  B.  Parker,  formerly  Chief  Judge  of  the  Court 
of  Appeals  of  the  State  of  New  York,  on  the  occasion  of 
the  presentation  of  my  father's  portrait  to  that  Court,  and 
the  response  of  Chief  Judge  Cullen  thereto. 

The  editorial  labor  involved  in  publishing  this  "Ret 
rospect"  has  been  lightened  by  helpful  suggestions  from 
other  members  of  the  family  and  a  few  immediate  friends, 
and  has  been  one  of  mingled  pain  and  happiness  to  us 
all — pain  that  came  from  the  absence  of  him  who  alone 
could  answer  many  questions  arising  in  the  prosecution  of 
the  work,  and  happiness  in  the  deep  satisfaction  of  being 
able  to  give  to  others  what  had  been  prepared  for  us  by 
that  vivid  memory,  brilliant  intellect,  and  loving  heart. 

HARRIET  ALLEN  BUTLER. 

"ROUND  OAK,"  YONKERS,  N.  Y.,  June  7,  1911. 


IX 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION i 

CHAPTER  I.— Birth— Early  Home— Revised  Statutes  and  Re 
visers — Story  of  the  Wonderful  Horse — William  Howard  Allen — 
His  Naval  Career,  Death  and  Burial — Halleck's  Commemora 
tive  Poem — Medad  Butler — His  Ancestry — Kinderhook  Land 
ing— "The  Hill"— The  Freshwater  Shad  7 

CHAPTER  II.— Edward  C.  Delavan— Temperance  and  Total  Ab 
stinence — Delavan's  Expiatory  Libation — Delavan  House — A 
Conference  on  Total  Abstinence — The  So-called  Beer  Trial — 
William  B.  Sprague — Anecdotes — Albany  Academy — Dr.  Bul 
lions — Greenbush  and  Schodack  Academy — Cholera  Epidemic — 
Trip  to  Utica 21 

CHAPTER  III.— Offers  to  Benjamin  F.  Butler  of  United  States 
Senatorship  and  State  Supreme  Court  Judgeship — His  Refusals 
— Bench  and  Bar  of  New  York — Commission  for  Settling 
Boundary  Line  Between  New  York  and  New  Jersey — Albany 
Regency — Van  Buren's  Letter — United  States  Attorney-General 
ship  Offered  to  Benjamin  F.  Butler — His  Acceptance — Testi 
monial — Correspondence 33 

CHAPTER  IV.— Journey  to  Washington— Roberts  Vaux— Story  of 
Franklin's  Sawdust  Pudding  —  The  Supreme  Court  —  The 
Room — The  Judges — William  Wirt — Anecdotes — Call  on  Gen 
eral  Jackson — His  Appearance — Washington  in  1834 — Social 
Life — Tone  of  Society — Effect  of  Slavery — Members  of  Con 
gress — The  "Swallow-Tailed  Gentry" — Foreign  Ministry — 
School  Life  in  Washington — School  Life  in  Hudson — Lafayette's 

Wig 46 

xi 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


CHAPTER  V.— Slavery  Conditions  at  National  Capital— Results 
of  Compromises — Historical  Review  of  Introduction  of  Slavery 
Into  the  United  States — Birth  and  Growth  of  Abolition  Senti 
ment — The  Ordinance  of  1787 — Compromises  of  the  Constitu 
tion — Recognition  of  Slavery  by  the  Constitution — Fugitive 
Slaves — Abolition  of  Slave-Trade — Louisiana  Purchase — Mis 
souri  Compromise — Letter  of  John  Forsyth  to  Van  Buren  .  .  67 

CHAPTER  VI.  — William  Lloyd  Garrison  —  Incident  of  John 
Smothers — Story  of  the  Colored  Door-Keeper — Bunker's  Man 
sion  House  in  New  York — Aaron  Burr — New  York  in  1834 — 
Letter,  1838 — Martin  Van  Buren — His  Career — Inauguration  as 
President — Benjamin  F.  Butler's  Resignation  of  Attorney-Gen 
eralship — Letter  of  Felix  Grundy 80 

CHAPTER  VII.— Charles  Butler— Voyage  to  Europe— Dickens- 
Letter  Home,  1838 — Paris — Homeward  Voyage  Interrupted — A 
"Weller"  Anecdote — Trip  to  Ireland  with  John  Van  Buren — 
Rome — Pompeii — Extracts  from  Journal — Return  Home  ...  92 

CHAPTER  VIII.— United  States  District  Attorneyship  of  New 
York  Offered  to  Benjamin  F.  Butler — Accepted — Presidential 
Campaign  of  1840 — The  "Log-Cabin  and  Hard-Cider"  Frenzy — 
Van  Buren's  Retirement  at  Lindenwald — Death  of  President 
Harrison — George  William  Curtis — New  York  University  Law 
School — Established  by  Benjamin  F.  Butler — Letter  of  Justice 
Story — Graduation  at  University  of  New  York  in  Class  of  1843 — 
Class  Dinners 105 

CHAPTER  IX.— Trip  to  Nashville— Visit  to  "The  Hermitage"— 
Talks  with  General  Jackson — His  Reminiscences — Church  Ser 
vice — The  De  Witt  Clinton  Toast — Correspondence  with  Fitz- 
Greene  Halleck — Jefferson  Dinner,  Toast  and  Nullification — 
Letter  from  General  Jackson  to  a  Young  Man — Annexation  of 
Texas  a  Leading  Issue 118 

CHAPTER  X.— Return  Trip  to  Washington— Mammoth  Cave- 
Presidential  Campaign  of  1844 — Defeat  of  Van  Buren — Explo 
sion  on  the  Princeton — Silas  Wright — Secretaryship  of  War  Of 
fered  to  Benjamin  F.  Butler — His  Refusal  and  His  Resumption 
of  the  District  Attorneyship  in  New  York — George  Bancroft  .  140 

xii 


CONTENTS 


PACK 


CHAPTER  XL— Admission  to  the  Bar— Voyage  to  Europe — "The 
Wanderer" — Entertained  at  Caen — Paris  of  1846 — "Vaucluse" 
— The  Young  Englishman  and  the  Queen's  English — Trip  to 
Genoa  and  Naples — Ascent  of  Vesuvius — Hotel  at  Pompeii — 
The  Landlord's  English — Trip  to  Sicily — Rome — Pope  Pius  IX 
— Lepri's  Resort  of  Americans — Powers's  "Greek  Slave" — 
Titian's  ' '  Assumption ' ' — Florence — Venice — Letter  Home — 
Berlin — Baron  Von  Humboldt 151 

CHAPTER  XIL— London— Breakfast  with  Samuel  Rogers— His 
Table  Talk — Letter  from  Mrs.  George  Bancroft — Literary 
Celebrities— Contributions  to  "The  Literary  World"  and  "The 
Democratic  Review" — Poems  of  Travel — Return  Home — 
Mexican  War — Treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo — Wilmot  Proviso 
— Presidential  Campaign  of  1848 — Free  Soil  Party  ....  174 

CHAPTER  XIII.— First  Legal  Cases— Discovery  of  Gold  in  Cali 
fornia —  The  Case  of  the  S.  S.  Union  —  The  Case  of  the  Ship 
Pacific—  Custom-house  Case— "The  Colonel's  Club"— Evert 
and  George  Duyckinck — "The  Sexton  and  the  Thermometer"  .  193 

CHAPTER  XIV.— Return  of  Benjamin  F.  Butler  to  New  York- 
Law  Office  in  Wall  Street — A  Supply  of  Office  Boys — Successive 
Law  Firms — Hiram  Barney — Account  of  Professional  Life — 
General  Taylor — Henry  Clay — His  Compromise — John  C.  Cal- 
houn — Daniel  Webster — His  Seventh  of  March  Speech — Indig 
nation  in  the  North — Whittier's  "Ichabod" — Death  of  President 
Taylor — Compromise  of  1850 209 

CHAPTER  XV.— Marriage  — A  Quaker's  Salutation  —  Reverend 
Samuel  Russell — Wedding  Trip — Home  in  37  East  Nineteenth 
Street — Domestic  Events — Horace  Greeley — P.  T.  Barnum — 
Jenny  Lind — "Barnum's  Parnassus" — "Sea  Scribblings" — 
American  Art  Union — Court  of  Appeals  Decision  —  "Mrs. 
Limber's  Raffle" 228 

CHAPTER  XVL— Presidential  Campaign  of  1852— Franklin  Pierce 
— Nathaniel  Hawthorne — Constitutionality  of  Fugitive  Slave 
Law — Benjamin  F.  Butler's  Attitude  to  Free  Soil  Party — Result 

xiii 


CONTENTS 

PACE 

of  Election — World's  Fair  of  1853— Crystal  Palace — Domestic 
Events — Mrs.  Benjamin  F.  Butler — Her  Ancestry — Life — Death 
and  Funeral •• 240 

CHAPTER  XVII.— Repeal  of  Missouri  Compromise— Stephen  A. 
Douglas — Popular  Sovereignty — Kansas-Nebraska  Bill — Border 
Rufiians — John  Brown — "The  Crime  Against  Kansas" — Assault 
by  Brooks  on  Sumner — Meeting  in  Broadway  Tabernacle — 
Pierre  Soule — The  "Black  Warrior"  Episode — Ostend  Manifesto 
— Anthony  Burns — The  Underground  Railroad — "Uncle  Tom's 
Cabin" 251 

CHAPTER  XVIII.— "Nothing  to  Wear"— Its  Genesis— Publication 
and  Popularity — A  School-girl  Claimant — Reviews — Literary 
Work  for  Harper's — Letter  from  George  William  Curtis — Re 
view  by  William  D.  Howells — The  Poem 274 

CHAPTER  XIX.— Republican  Party— Presidential  Campaign  of 
1856 — President  Buchanan — Lecompton  Convention — The  Eng 
lish  Bill — Trip  South  with  Captain  Marshall — "At  Richmond" 
—"Two  Millions"  .  .  . 298 

CHAPTER  XX.— Benjamin  F.  Butler— His  Last  Legal  Cases- 
Trip  to  Europe — His  Illness — Death  and  Funeral — Resolu 
tions — William  Curtis  Noyes — Evert  A.  Duyckinck — Samuel 
J.  Tilden — His  Will — Astor-Lenox-Tilden  Foundation  .  .  .  313 

CHAPTER  XXI.— Dred  Scott  Case— Douglas  and  Lincoln  Rival 
Candidates  for  Senator — John  Brown's  Raid — Lincoln  in  New 
York — Cooper  Union  Speech — Visit  to  Five  Points  School  of 
Industry — Nominations  at  Chicago  Convention — Governor  Sew- 
ard — Presidential  Campaign  of  1860 327 

CHAPTER  XXII.— President  Buchanan  Dazed— His  Cabinet- 
Secession  of  South  Carolina — Fort  Sumter — Lincoln's  Inaugura 
tion — His  Cabinet — Relief  of  Sumter — Opening  of  the  War — 
Hiram  Barney — The  Proposed  Proclamation  of  Emancipation — 
Attitude  of  Foreign  Governments — England  and  the  Rebellion — 

Privateers       339 

XIV 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XXIII.— Home  at  No  13  East  Twelfth  Street— Domestic 
Events — Seven  Summers  at  Newburgh — Battle  of  Bull  Run — 
The  Union  Army — Its  High  Character — Franklin  Butler  Crosby 
—Poem  on  His  Death — The  Merrimac  and  T/ic  Monitor — The 
Emancipation  Proclamation .......355 

CHAPTER  XXIV.— Death  of  Martin  Van  Buren— Funeral  at 
Kinderhook — Columbia  County  Lawyers — Biographical  Sketch 
of  Martin  Van  Buren — Presidential  Campaign  of  1864 — General 
McClellan — Speech  of  Dr.  Tyng — Lincoln  Re-elected — Sur 
render  of  Lee — Assassination  of  Lincoln — Grief  of  a  Nation — 
Tom  Taylor's  Poem  in  "Punch"— John  P.  Crosby— His  Death 
— Death  of  Captain  Marshall — Memorial — Move  to  Yonkers — 
"Round  Oak"— Home  Poems:  "Tom  Twist,"  "Somebody"— 
Books  and  the  Library 365 

APPENDIX.— 

Memorial  of  William  Allen  Butler 391 

Memorial  Proceedings  in  the  Supreme  Court 417 

Memorial  Proceedings  in  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  424 

Address  in  the  Court  of  Appeals 427 

INDEX 431 


XV 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER Frontispiece 

A  portrait  painted  by  Howard  Russell  Butler,  now  in  the  anti-chamber  of 
the  Court  of  Appeals,  Albany,  N.  Y. 

FACING    PAGE 

MARY  RUSSELL  BUTLER  [MRS.  WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER]  .     .  Dedication 

From  a  photograph,  1910. 

MABEL  JONES J6 

From  a  portrait,  now  in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Helena  B.  Wainwright, 
Hartford,  Conn. 

MEDAD  BUTLER 64 

From  a  portrait  painted  about  1825,  now  in  the  possession  of  Miss  Emily  O 
Butler. 

HANNAH  TYLEE  BUTLER 96 

From  a  portrait  painted  by  Samuel  Laurence,  now  in  the  possession  of  Miss 
Emily  O.  Butler. 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  BUTLER 128 

From  a  portrait  by  Thomas  Hicks,  now  in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  William 
Allen  Butler. 

HARRIET  ALLEN  BUTLER 160 

From  a  portrait  painted  about  1835,  now  in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Mary 
Howard  Butler. 

CHARLES  HENRY  MARSHALL 194 

From  a  portrait  painted  by  Thomas  Hicks,  now  in  the  possession  of  Mrs. 
William  Allen  Butler. 

FIDELIA  WELLMAN  MARSHALL 224 

From  a  portrait,  now  in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  William  Allen  Butler,  by 
Howard  Russell  Butler,  based  on  a  miniature  painted  in  England,  1825. 

WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 256 

From  a  Carte  de  visile,  1857. 

xvii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING  PAGE 

MARY  RUSSELL  BUTLER   [MRS.  WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER]     ...  286 

From  a  Carfe  de  visile,  1857. 

NORTH  VIEW  OF  "ROUND  OAK,"  1867 320 

SOUTH  VIEW  OF  "ROUND  OAK,"  1903 352 

VIEW  FROM  TERRACE  OF  "ROUND  OAK,"  1903 384 


XVlll 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY   YEARS 

1825-1865 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

INTRODUCTION 

T^NTERING  this  day,  February  20,  ,1899,  0n;.  my 
-*— '  seventy-fifth  year,  and  being  by  the  biessmg  of  Provi- 
dence  "of  sound  mind  and  memory,"  ,s$.  testators-  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  saying  from  time  immemorial,  "and 
under  no  restraint"  save  a  somewhat  impaired  eyesight, 
it  seems  to  me  an  opportune  moment  for  beginning  a 
narrative  of  some  of  the  events  of  a  long  and  busy  life. 
I  am  moved  to  this  more  by  calls,  urgent  and  reiterated, 
from  the  voices  of  those  nearest  and  dearest  to  me,  than 
by  any  decided  impulse  of  my  own. 

I  believe  it  is  Henri  Rochefort,  the  Parisian  journalist, 
who  is  credited  with  the  cynical  remark  that  when  men 
become  fit  for  nothing  else  they  begin  to  write  their  remi 
niscences.  This  is  an  apt  illustration  of  the  old  legal 
maxim  "The  greater  the  truth,  the  greater  the  libel"; 
for  it  is  only  old  men  who  can  have  any  considerable 
store  of  reminiscence,  and  it  is  only  when  they  are  disabled 
for  the  active  pursuits  of  life  that  they  can  find  solace  and 
refuge  in  memory.  It  is  often  said  that  old  men  live  in 
the  past;  but  would  it  not  be  truer  to  say  that  the  past 

i 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

lives  in  them,  so  far  as  they  revive  its  recollections  and 
chronicle  its  events  ?  Surely  they  ought  not  to  be  grudged 
this  harmless  monopoly  of  reminiscence. 

Fortunately,  perhaps,  a  safeguard  against  too  much 
autobiography  is  found  in  the  fact  that  so  many  personal 
memoirs,  begun  with  good  intent,  are  never  carried  to 
completion.  "Here  the  manuscript  ends,"  "cetera  de- 
sunt,"  "the  rest  is  wanting" — such  are  the  legends  that 
at  the  foot  of  the  last  autobiographic  page  cut  short  the 
thread  of  the.  personal  narrative  and  leave  the  story  of 
the  life  unfinished,  unless  traced  by  another  hand  than 
that  which  began  it;  and  so  the  field  of  literature  is  strewn 
with  the  fragments  of  autobiographies.  In  view  of  this 
deterring  fact,  if  my  personal  reminiscences  were  of  any 
public  concern  or  value,  I  might  well  take  warning  from 
an  incident  in  my  own  experience. 

On  one  of  my  last  visits  to  Martin  Van  Buren,  eighth 
president  of  the  United  States,  at  Lindenwald,  his  coun 
try  home  at  Kinderhook,  N.  Y.,  he  told  me  he  had  brought 
the  rough  draft  of  his  autobiography  to  the  date  of  his 
election  to  the  presidency  in  1836.  I  ventured  to  urge 
him  to  pause  at  this  point  and  revise  for  publication 
what  he  had  already  written,  saying  to  him  that  he  was 
the  hero  of  his  own  book,  and  having  been  elected  to 
the  presidency  of  the  United  States,  that  was  a  good  place 
to  leave  himself.  "But,"  said  the  ex-president,  "I 
must  vindicate  my  administration."  I  replied  that  there 
were  many  men  who  could  do  that,  but  no  one  except 
himself  could  properly  complete  the  work  of  revising  his 

2 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

manuscript  as  it  stood.  I  soon  found,  however,  that  my 
view  could  not  prevail,  and  the  result  justified  my  appre 
hensions;  for  the  autobiography  was  never  finished. 

In  a  sense,  what  the  Bible  is  to  the  race,  the  record  of 
every  man's  life  is  to  himself,  a  revelation  in  which  he 
may  read  the  designs  and  dealings  of  Providence,  his 
own  human  lapses  and  the  divine  deliverances. 

The  interest  we  take  in  our  own  lives  is  incommuni 
cable.  Only  as  they  have  been  linked  with  other  lives 
more  potential  than  our  own,  can  they  have  any  special  in 
terest  even  to  our  kindred.  In  my  present  retrospective 
essay  I  have  not  the  aid  of  diary  or  journal.  Almost  the 
only  diaries  I  hold  in  esteem  are  those  of  that  garrulous 
old  worldling,  Pepys,  and  of  the  stately  and  saintly  John 
Evelyn.  People  who  attach  wonderful  importance  to 
everything  said  and  done  by  the  dispensers  of  power 
have  for  diary-keeping  a  motive  which  private  persons 
lack.  The  daily  notes  of  courtiers,  officials,  statesmen 
and  other  public  functionaries,  dealing  with  the  conduct 
of  affairs  and  the  making  of  history,  are,  in  some  sort, 
annals  of  the  times,  and  thus  have  a  reason  for  existence. 

Long  ago  I  was  impressed  by  the  force  of  Robert  Hall's 
recorded  disapproval  of  the  habit  of  keeping  a  diary,  on 
the  ground  that  it  tempted  to  an  artificial,  insincere  tone 
of  expression.1  This  objection  he  made,  I  think,  more 
particularly  as  to  journals  of  personal  experience,  relig 
ious  or  other,  but  it  is  not  without  weight  if  generally 
applied.  In  conversation,  in  letter- writing,  in  narrative, 

1  Robert  Hall,  "Works,"  1838  (Memoir  by  Dr.  Gregory). 

3 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

oral  or  written,  there  is  the  naturalness  that  belongs  to 
dealing  with  men  or  things  outside  of  our  own  personality; 
but  when  individual  feeling,  opinion  and  animadversion 
seek  expression  in  the  private  pages  of  a  diary,  it  is  diffi 
cult  for  the  writer  to  be  fair  and  candid  even  with  himself. 

While  my  own  life  has  been  too  uneventful  and  unim 
portant  to  justify  any  extended  narrative,  it  has  always 
been  an  active  one,  in  touch  more  or  less  with  current 
public  affairs  and  the  men  concerned  in  shaping  them. 
I  may,  therefore,  be  able  in  these  pages  to  preserve  some 
memorabilia  serviceable  for  the  gratification  of  my  own 
passion  for  retrospection  and  for  the  preservation  of 
some  facts  and  incidents  which  otherwise  would  be  for 
gotten  or  with  difficulty  recalled  to  mind. 

Some  time  ago,  while  reading  a  volume  of  Horace  Wai- 
pole's  Letters,  I  came  upon  certain  pages  headed  "Notes 
of  My  Life,"  written  by  himself  for  his  friends,  the  Misses 
Berry,  containing  under  date  of  successive  years  the  lead 
ing  events  of  his  career,  entered  concisely,  somewhat  like 
items  in  a  stated  account  of  annual  rents.  My  chance 
acquaintance  with  this  summary  of  a  life,  more  similar 
to  a  table  of  contents  than  to  a  sustained  biography,  has 
induced  me  to  imitate  Walpole's  commendable  example, 
and  arrange  my  retrospective  annals  under  the  dates 
of  the  years  to  which  they  belong,  regretting  only  that 
while  following  this  method  of  Walpole,  I  cannot  bring  to 
my  pages  the  vivacity  and  grace  of  that  charming  writer.1 

1  Although  my  father's  original  intention  was  to  follow  this  chronological 
method  of  Walpole,  he  did  not  carry  out  the  revision  of  his  manuscript  far  enough 
for  the  editor  to  adhere  strictly  to  this  plan. — ED. 

4 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

One  object  which  I  hope  to  keep  in  view  is  tracing, 
step  by  step  and  year  by  year,  the  rise,  progress,  supremacy 
and  destruction  of  the  slave  power  in  the  United  States — 
from  the  first  alarm  and  outcry  against  any  agitation  in 
the  free  States  of  the  question  of  slavery,  either  on  the 
side  of  morality  or  politics,  through  the  long  and  violent 
conflicts  in  Congress  and  at  the  polls,  through  the  period 
of  secession  and  of  armed  rebellion,  to  the  Proclamation 
of  Emancipation,  and  the  downfall  of  the  Confederacy 
at  Appomattox.  All  these  successive  events  I  was  able  to 
watch,  with  the  keenest  interest,  from  no  distant  point  of 
view,  either  in  respect  to  the  political  struggle  or  to  the 
fortunes  of  the  Civil  War.  Notwithstanding  all  that  has 
been  written  in  history,  narrative  and  biography  touch 
ing  slavery  and  its  issues,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the 
present  generation  of  Americans  is  less  informed  about  the 
growth  of  anti-slavery  sentiment  and  the  causes  of  its 
final  strength  in  the  struggle  for  the  Union  than  about 
other  and  earlier  periods  of  our  national  history.  The 
downfall  of  slavery  was  like  the  cataclysm  described  in 
the  Apocalypse,  "as  it  were  a  great  mountain  cast  into 
the  sea";  the  turbid  waves  of  time  engulfed  it,  and  it  dis 
appeared  finally  and  for  ever.  Nothing  was  left  of  the 
slave-holders'  oligarchy  but  a  few  plantation  melodies 
and  some  old-time  negro  dialect  stories. 

An  intelligent  English  visitor  to  this  country  recently 
made  a  tour  in  the  South,  and  fell  in  with  a  veteran  who 
had  outlived  the  Confederacy,  and  who  had  spent  much 
of  his  old  age  in  composing  a  history  of  the  lost  cause, 

5 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

doubtless  permeated  with  lamentation  and  woe.  When 
the  work  was  finished,  the  veteran  told  his  English  friend 
that  he  gave  it  to  his  son,  a  young  man  just  entering  on 
an  active  career,  who,  to  the  father's  surprise,  returned  it 
unread,  saying  that  all  its  contents  must  be  a  sealed  book 
to  him.  The  father  was  looking  backward,  the  son  for 
ward.  With  the  son,  as  with  the  great  bulk  of  men  born 
since  1861,  whether  in  the  North  or  in  the  South,  slavery 
is  a  tradition,  affording  no  satisfaction  in  the  retrospect, 
and  no  inspiration  for  the  future,  and  obscured  by  the 
later  stirring  events  which  have  brought  into  being  a 
national  unity  such  as  never  before  existed. 


CHAPTER  I 

BIRTH — EARLY  HOME — REVISED  STATUTES  AND  REVISERS — STORY  OF  THE 
WONDERFUL  HORSE — WILLIAM  HOWARD  ALLEN — HIS  NAVAL  CAREER, 
DEATH  AND  BURIAL — HALLECK's  COMMEMORATIVE  POEM — MEDAD 
BUTLER — HIS  ANCESTRY — KINDERHOOK  LANDING — "THE  HILL" — 
THE  FRESHWATER  SHAD. 

THE  house,  No.  109  State  Street,1  Albany,  N.  Y.,  in 
which  I  was  born,  February  20,  1825,  is  °f  some 
interest  to  the  legal  profession.  Within  its  walls,  chiefly 
in  the  front  basement,  then  the  law  office  of  my  father, 
Benjamin  Franklin  Butler,  was  carried  on,  to  a  large 
extent,  the  preparation  of  "The  Revised  Statutes  of  the 
State  of  New  York,"  one  of  the  most  important  legal 
works  of  the  nineteenth  century.  It  was  a  novel,  bold 
and  successful  attempt  to  bring  the  whole  common  law 
of  England  and  all  the  existing  colonial  and  State  statutes 
affecting  our  commonwealth  into  a  complete  and  system 
atic  code,  based  upon  scientific  principles  and  sufficient 
for  all  the  needs  of  government. 

In  an  address  delivered  before  the  Bar  Association  of 
the  City  of  New  York,  January  22,  1889,  on  the  occasion 

1  The  building  still  stands,  but  is  no  longer  used  as  a  private  residence. 
On  a  near-by  corner  on  State  Street  a  bronze  tablet  has  recently  been 
placed  with  the  inscription:  STATE  ST.  FORMERLY  YONKER,  (OR 
GENTLEMAN  ST.).  It  is  a  curious  little  coincidence  that  my  father's  life, 
of  which  so  much  was  spent  in  the  city  of  Yonkers,  should  have  begun  on  a 
street  of  the  name  of  Yonker. — ED. 

7 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

of  my  presentation  to  it  of  portraits  of  the  three  revisers,  my 
father,  John  Duer  and  John  C.  Spencer,  I  set  forth  the 
history  of  their  work  from  its  inception  in  1824  to  its 
completion  in  1830.  This  address  was  afterward  pub 
lished  under  the  auspices  of  the  Association,  with  some 
additions  and  brief  biographical  sketches  of  the  revisers, 
under  the  title  of  "The  Revision  of  the  Statutes  of  the 
State  of  New  York  and  the  Revisers."  Were  it  possible  to 
reproduce  on  these  pages  the  tributes  which  came  to  me 
after  the  publication  of  this  book  from  many  of  the  most 
eminent  judges  and  jurists  of  our  country,  they  would 
bear  out  to  the  fullest  extent  the  estimate  I  had  expressed 
of  the  value  and  importance  of  the  Revised  Statutes. 
They  became  the  model  of  the  statute  law  of  many  of 
the  States  of  the  Union  and  remain  today  the  ground 
work  of  our  existing  system  of  statutory  law. 

I  have  referred  at  the  outset  to  the  Revised  Statutes 
and  its  framers  because  they  are  associated  with  my 
earliest  recollections.  When  I  was  about  four  years  old 
my  father  and  his  co-workers,  Messrs.  Duer  and  Spencer, 
were  in  the  habit  of  taking  a  brief  respite  from  their 
labors  in  the  latter  part  of  the  day  for  a  cup  of  tea  or 
other  refreshments.  Being  the  only  son,  although  the  fourth 
child,  of  my  parents,  I  was  made  an  exhibit  in  the  course  of 
their  interlocutory  proceedings,  and  was  on  very  familiar 
terms  with  the  grave  codifiers  who  were  my  father's 
guests  and  to  whom  I  imparted  some  strange  information. 

My  father  owned  a  saddle-horse  named  Diamond, 
who  was  the  object  of  my  unbounded  childish  admira- 

8 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

tion.  Either  as  the  result  of  my  imagination  or,  more 
likely,  the  experience  of  dreamland,  I  told  the  revisers  in 
perfect  simplicity  of  most  extraordinary,  preternatural 
and  super-equine  feats  performed  by  this  wonderful  horse 
in  my  presence;  amongst  others,  of  his  having  mounted 
from  the  sidewalk  of  State  Street  up  the  front  wall  and 
over  the  roof  of  our  house  descending  on  Maiden  Lane, 
the  rear  boundary  of  the  premises.  Nearly  thirty  years 
afterward  my  dim  remembrance  of  these  occasions  was 
clarified  in  a  somewhat  startling  way.  I  had  just  finished 
a  long  argument  before  the  General  Term  of  the  New 
York  Superior  Court,  of  which  at  that  time  this  same 
John  Duer  was  Chief  Justice.  The  old  man — for  such 
he  had  become — lingered  a  while  after  the  adjournment 
of  the  court  to  chat  with  me  and  some  other  lawyers, 
and  presently,  calling  their  attention  to  myself,  he  said: 
"Would  you  believe  it  that  this  young  man,  when  I  first 
knew  him,  was  one  of  the  greatest  liars  who  ever  lived  ? " 
and  then  went  on,  fortunately  for  me,  without  a  break  to 
permit  a  damaging  impression,  to  repeat  my  juvenile 
story  of  the  exploits  of  Diamond.  The  fact  that  he  had 
retained  so  vivid  a  recollection  of  my  Munchausen  tales 
shows  that  they  must  have  been  told  with  impressive 
effect. 

I  was  named  for  my  uncle  William  Howard  Allen, 
the  only  brother  of  my  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Harriet  Allen.  Their  parents,  Howard  and  Lydia  Allen, 
came  from  the  island  of  Nantucket  with  the  colony  which 
settled  at  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  at  the  head  of  ship  navigation 

9 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

of  the  Hudson  River.  Their  son,  William  Howard,  born 
July  8,  1790,  entered  the  United  States  Navy  as  a  mid 
shipman  in  1808,  was  commissioned  a  lieutenant  in  1813, 
and,  entering  at  once  on  active  service  in  the  war  with 
England,  was  made  third  in  command  of  the  sloop-of- 
war  Argus.  This  vessel  of  only  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
eight  tons  was  destined  to  achieve  a  great  naval  repu 
tation  in  the  short  cruise  on  which  she  entered  June  18, 
1813,  when  she  sailed  from  New  York  having  on  board 
William  H.  Crawford,  our  newly  appointed  Minister  to 
France.  By  a  singular  coincidence  the  commander  of 
the  Argus,  although  no  relation  to  my  uncle,  bore  the 
name  of  William  Henry  Allen. 

After  a  voyage  of  twenty-three  days  the  vessel  reached 
L'Orient,  and,  having  refitted,  went  in  search  of  prizes. 
Spears,  the  historian  of  our  navy,  says:  "It  was  a  short 
but  brilliant  cruise.  The  Argus  sailed  on  July  14,  1813. 
Ship  after  ship  was  taken,  some  of  them  right  under  the 
cliffs  of  the  British  coast.  Some  were  sunk  and  some 
were  burned.  A  few  of  the  more  valuable  were  manned 
and  sent  to  French  ports.  Indeed,  so  many  prizes  were 
taken  that  the  crew  became  worn  out  with  the  work. 
The  Argus  was  at  sea  but  one  month  and  yet  twenty 
ships,  valued  at  $2,500,000,  were  taken  in  that  time." 

On  August  14,  1813,  while  the  Argus  was  in  the  Irish 
Sea,  she  was  attacked  by  the  British  brig  Pelican,  a  war- 
vessel  of  four  hundred  and  twenty-seven  tons,  which  had 
just  put  into  Cork  three  days  before  and  hearing  of  the 
depredations  of  the  Yankee  cruiser,  had  sailed  in  search 

10 


A    RETROSPECT   OF  FORTY   YEARS 

of  her.  Notwithstanding  the  worn-out  condition  of  his 
men  Captain  Allen  immediately  engaged  the  Pelican  and 
one  of  the  most  notable  sea-fights  of  the  war  followed. 
From  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  until  a  little  before  seven 
o'clock  the  combat  raged.  Soon  after  six  o'clock  in  the 
morning  Captain  Allen  was  struck  by  a  ball  which  shat 
tered  one  leg.  The  leg  was  amputated  after  he  was 
carried  below,  and  although  lingering  for  a  few  days,  he 
died  from  the  effects  of  the  wound  in  England,  August 
18,  1813.  The  command  devolved  on  Lieutenant  William 
H.  Watson;  but  a  few  moments  later  a  grape-shot  struck 
his  head  and  he  was  carried  below  unconscious.  The 
command  then  fell  to  my  uncle,  William  Howard  Allen, 
and  he  maintained  the  unequal  fight  during  the  conflict 
until  the  Argus  was  rendered  helpless,  and  she  was  sur 
rendered,  almost  a  complete  wreck. 

The  surviving  officers  and  men  of  the  Argus  were 
taken  to  England  on  the  Pelican,  where,  as  already  men 
tioned,  Captain  Allen  died.  He  was  buried  at  Plymouth 
with  high  military  honors,  in  recognition  of  his  ability  as 
a  seaman  and  of  his  humane  treatment  of  the  prisoners 
he  had  taken  during  his  last  cruise.  The  inadequate 
honor  was  accorded  him  at  home  of  having  a  street  in 
the  city  of  New  York  named  for  him — Allen  Street — 
running  from  Division  Street,  northeast  to  Houston 
Street.  My  uncle,  Lieutenant  Allen,  was  detained  at 
Ashburton  as  a  prisoner  of  war  until  peace  was  pro 
claimed.  He  was  afterward  in  service  on  the  Flambeau, 
one  of  the  vessels  in  the  squadron  of  Commodore  Decatur 

ii 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

on  his  famous  cruise  to  the  Mediterranean  in  1815,  sig 
nalized  by  the  abject  submission  of  the  Dey  of  Algiers 
on  the  quarter-deck  of  the  American  commodore's  flag 
ship.  The  Dey  acceded  to  all  his  demands  for  the  pro 
tection  of  our  commerce  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  re 
linquished  all  pretensions  to  levy  tribute  on  the  property 
of  American  citizens  or  to  reduce  them  to  slavery. 

In  1819  Lieutenant  Allen  made  a  cruise  in  the  frig 
ate  Congress  as  second  in  command  to  the  Chinese  Sea, 
where  this  vessel,  the  first  of  her  class  which  had  ever 
visited  those  waters,  excited  the  wonder  and  admiration 
of  the  natives.  After  these  long  years  of  service  he  at 
last  obtained  command  of  a  vessel-of-war,  the  sloop  Alli 
gator,  and  was  sent  on  the  perilous  mission  of  clearing 
the  West  Indian  seas  of  the  pirates  who  were  plundering 
along  the  coast  of  Cuba,  and,  without  let  or  hindrance 
from  the  weak  Spanish  Government,  making  depreda 
tions  on  our  commerce  and  holding  for  ransom  the  pris 
oners  they  captured  on  our  merchant-vessels. 

The  Alligator  sailed  from  New  York,  August  3,  1822, 
and,  after  a  three  months'  uneventful  cruise,  entered  the 
port  of  Matanzas,  November  9,  1822.  As  he  was  about 
to  anchor,  intelligence  reached  Lieutenant  Allen  that  a 
gang  of  pirates  had  captured  an  American  brig  and 
schooner,  and  were  holding  their  officers  for  a  ransom  of 
$7,000  in  a  neighboring  bay  about  fifteen  leagues  from 
Matanzas.  Without  dropping  anchor  he  at  once  gave 
chase  to  the  pirates,  and  soon  came  up  with  their  fleet, 
consisting  of  three  small  vessels  with  a  hundred  or  more 

12 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

men.  One  of  them  had  the  red  flag  nailed  to  her  mast 
head.  The  prizes  were  at  anchor  near  by.  The  pirates 
being  in  water  too  shallow  for  the  litigator's  draft,  her 
commander  ordered  the  boats  lowered,  and  taking  charge 
of  one  of  them  continued  the  chase  with  oars,  boarding 
and  capturing  one  of  the  enemy's  vessels.  In  the  des 
perate  encounter  which  ensued  with  the  remaining  ves 
sels  Lieutenant  Allen  received  two  musket-shots  and 
was  carried  to  the  captured  vessel,  where  he  died.  He 
was  buried  at  Matanzas  with  military  honors.  In  1833 
Congress,  by  resolution,  ordered  the  removal  of  his  re 
mains  to  his  native  city  of  Hudson,  where  his  fellow 
citizens  received  them  with  every  tribute  of  respect  and 
affection,  and  subsequently  erected  over  his  grave  a 
handsome  monument  of  white  marble.  The  sash,  sword 
and  epaulets  which  he  wore  at  the  time  of  receiving  his 
fatal  wounds  hang  in  my  library  at  "Round  Oak"  and 
underneath  them  is  the  original  commission  appointing 
him  a  lieutenant  in  the  navy,  dated  July  22,  1813,  and 
signed  by  President  Madison. 

All  the  contemporary  tributes  to  Lieutenant  Allen's 
memory  emphasize  his  filial  devotion  to  his  mother,  an 
invalid  during  the  latter  part  of  her  life,  confined  almost 
wholly  to  her  bed,  by  the  side  of  which  her  only  son,  in 
the  intervals  of  his  sea  service,  spent  many  hours  of 
tender  ministrations.  He  was  her  sole  support,  and  she 
soon  followed  him  to  the  grave.  She  died  January  7, 
1823.  The  statement  of  General  James  Grant  Wilson  in 
the  "Life  and  Letters  of  Halleck"  that  she  lived  only  a 

13 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

few  hours  after  hearing  of  her  son's  death  is  a  mistake. 
Fitz-Greene  Halleck,  the  poet,  was  a  warm  friend  of  my 
uncle.  They  were  born  on  the  same  day — July  8,  1790. 
This  coincidence  strengthened  the  tie  that  united  them  in 
affectionate  sympathy.  Halleck's  lines  on  the  death  of 
Lieutenant  Allen,  first  printed  in  the  New  York  Evening 
Post  on  December  4,  1822,  are  among  the  most  beautiful 
productions  of  his  versatile  pen.  I  subjoin  them  here, 
not  only  because  Halleck  is  not  so  much  read  as  he  once 
was,  but  chiefly  because  they  seem  to  me  a  fitting  close  to 
the  brief  sketch  I  have  given  of  the  brave  and  noble  life 
which  they  commemorate. 

ON  THE  DEATH  OF  LIEUT.  WILLIAM  HOWARD  ALLEN 
OF  THE  AMERICAN   NAVY 

He  has  been  mourned  as  brave  men  mourn  the  brave, 
And  wept  as  nations  weep  their  cherished  dead, 
With  bitter,  but  proud  tears,  and  o'er  his  head 
The  eternal  flowers  whose  root  is  in  the  grave, 
The  flowers  of  Fame,  are  beautiful  and  green; 
And  by  his  grave's  side  pilgrim  feet  have  been, 
And  blessings,  pure  as  men  to  martyrs  give, 
Have  there  been  breathed  by  those  he  died  to  save. 
— Pride  of  his  country's  banded  chivalry, 
His  fame  their  hope,  his  name  their  battle-cry; 
He  lived  as  mothers  wished  their  sons  to  live, 
He  died  as  fathers  wish  their  sons  to  die. 
If  on  the  grief-worn  cheek  the  hues  of  bliss, 
Which  fade  when  all  we  love  is  in  the  tomb, 
Could  ever  know  on  earth  a  second  bloom, 
The  memory  of  a  gallant  death  like  his 
Would  call  them  into  being;   but  the  few 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

Who  as  their  friend,  their  brother,  or  their  son, 
His  kind  warm  heart  and  gentle  spirit  knew, 
Had  long  lived,  hoped,  and  feared  for  him  alone; 
His  voice  their  morning  music,  and  his  eye 
The  only  starlight  of  their  evening  sky, 
Till  even  the  sun  of  happiness  seemed  dim, 
And  life's  best  joys  were  sorrows  but  with  him; 
And  when,  the  burning  bullet  in  his  breast, 
He  dropt,  like  summer  fruit  from  off  the  bough, 
There  was  one  heart  that  knew  and  lov'd  him  best — 
It  was  a  mother's — and  is  broken  now. 

In  an  address  which  I  delivered  May  15,  1877,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  unveiling  by  President  Hayes  of  the  Hal- 
leek  monument  in  Central  Park,  I  referred  to  the  above 
elegiac  poem  as  kindred  in  spirit  to  the  "Lycidas"  of 
Milton.  For  this  I  was  roundly  scored  by  a  newspaper 
critic  of  the  day,  but  on  perusing  it  after  the  lapse  of  many 
years  I  am  not  inclined  to  recant  my  encomium. 

Halleck's  friendship  for  my  uncle  was  continued  on 
my  behalf.  At  the  time  of  writing  the  poem  just  quoted, 
he  was  in  the  employ  of  Jacob  Barker,  the  most  noted 
member  of  the  Nantucket  family  of  that  name,  a  shipping 
merchant  in  New  York,  of  whom  I  shall  have  more  to 
say  hereafter.  Halleck  in  later  years  was  a  confidential 
and  trusted  clerk  of  John  Jacob  Astor.  On  his  retire 
ment  in  1849  ne  lived  at  Guilford,  Conn.,  making  occa 
sional  visits  to  New  York,  where  I  sometimes  met  him  at 
Downing's  oyster-cellar  in  the  sub-basement  of  the  build 
ing  on  the  east  side  of  Broad  Street  just  below  Wall  Street, 
a  famous  rendezvous  of  the  business  men  of  that  vicinity, 

15 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

and  there,  over  a  narrow  table  and  moderate  repast,  we 
held  pleasant  converse.  He  died  November  19,  1867. 

Although  in  my  maturer  years  I  gratefully  appreciated 
the  association  of  my  own  name  with  that  of  my  uncle, 
William  Howard  Allen,  it  was  in  my  early  boyhood  a 
source  of  grief  to  me  that  my  parents  had  not  given  me 
the  Christian  name  of  my  paternal  grandfather — Medad. 
He  was  the  third  in  lineal  descent  from  Jonathan  Butler, 
a  settler  at  Saybrook,  Conn.,  in  the  year  1724.  His 
fourth  son,  Ezekiel  Butler,  married  Mabel  Jones,  of  Say- 
brook,  a  descendant  of  Colonel  John  Jones,  one  of  the 
regicides  beheaded  October  17,  1660,  who  is  said  to  have 
married  for  his  second  wife  a  sister  of  Oliver  Cromwell.1 

After  naming  their  first  two  sons  respectively  Ezekiel 
and  Elias,  they  found  a  name  for  my  grandfather  in 
Numbers  11:26  and  christened  him  "Medad."  There- 
suit  of  this  whimsical  choice  was  that  no  one  of  his  nu 
merous  male  descendants  ever  bore  his  Christian  name. 
He  was  very  fond  of  me  and  in  the  affectionate  devotion 
which  I  returned  to  him  I  included  an  ardent  wish  to  bear 
his  name,  carrying  this  preference  so  far,  if  I  rightly  re 
member,  as  occasionally  to  sign  my  name  or  at  least 
indulge  myself  in  writing  it  as  a  counterpart  of  his.2 

1  Colonel  John  Jones's  first  wife  was  Margaret  Edwards.    She  died  in  1651  and 
was  the  mother  of  all  his  children.     He  had  no  children  by  his  second  wife. — ED. 

2  A  work  which  my  father  undertook  as  a  labor  of  love  for  his  entire  family 
and  which  involved  much  arduous  preparation  was  "The  Book  of  the  Family 
and  Lineal  Descendants  of  Medad  Butler,"  which  contains  the  names  of  all 
the  descendants  of  his  grandfather  ingeniously  classified  according  to  genera 
tion  and  family,  with  details  of  parentage,  age,  marriages  and  deaths,  down  to- 
the  date  of  the  publication  of  the  book  in  1887. — ED. 

16 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

Much  of  my  early  life  was  spent  with  my  grand 
father  at  Kinderhook  Landing,  where  he  had  come  from 
Branford,  Conn.,  in  1787.  Before  my  birth  he  had  pro 
cured  the  requisite  authority  to  change  the  name  of  the 
place  to  "  Stuyvesant,"  in  honor  of  Peter  Stuyvesant,  the 
valorous  governor  of  New  York  immortalized  in  Irving's 
"Knickerbocker."  He  built  a  modest  homestead  on  the 
east  side  of  the  highway  leading  from  Kinderhook  Land 
ing  as  originally  settled,  to  the  village  of  Kinderhook,  five 
miles  distant  inland.  This  place  was  called  by  the  vil 
lagers  "The  Hill,"  and  in  general  parlance  the  definite 
article  was  also  associated  with  my  grandfather,  who  was 
known  as  "The  Judge,"  he  being  for  many  years  a  county 
judge  and  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life  the  first  judge  of 
Columbia  County. 

"The  Hill"  was  somewhat  singular  in  situation.  A 
sharp  rise  of  ground  from  the  highway  was  surmounted  by 
a  plateau  on  which  the  house  stood  facing  the  river, 
reached  by  flights  of  steps.  Half-way  up  the  ascent  was 
a  large  oak  tree  affording  a  resting-place  for  the  pedes 
trian.  From  the  house  a  level  roadway  led  to  the  north 
ward  and  intersected  the  highway  at  the  top  of  the  hill; 
to  the  south  were  flower-beds  and  a  vegetable  garden. 
In  the  rear  of  the  house  the  land  again  rose  and  was  occu 
pied  by  an  apple  orchard,  one  of  the  old-fashioned  Co 
lumbia  County  style,  which  no  cold  of  winter  or  drought 
of  summer  could  ever  injuriously  affect.  It  yielded  its 
annual  supply  regardless  of  these  climatic  conditions  which 
in  our  degenerate  days  appear  to  be  so  fatal  to  fruit  crops 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

in  every  part  of  the  country.  On  the  north  side  of  the 
orchard  a  lane  led  up  the  hill  to  the  eastern  boundary  of 
the  place.  From  the  house  and  every  part  of  the  garden 
there  was  a  view  of  the  river  extending  northward  for 
several  miles,  and  southward  for  a  shorter  distance  but 
terminated  in  that  direction  by  the  range  of  the  Catskill 
Mountains,  which  formed  a  most  picturesque  back 
ground. 

The  happiest  recollections  of  my  boyhood  are  associ 
ated  with  this  quiet  spot  and  the  home  life  of  my  grand 
parents.  At  what  was  called  the  "Upper  Landing/' 
which  had  superseded  the  "Lower  Landing"  as  a  center 
of  trade,  there  were  warehouses  and  a  line  of  barges  for 
the  transportation  to  New  York  of  the  produce  of  the  in 
terior  of  the  county,  which,  before  the  building  of  the 
Hudson  River  Railroad,  was  exported  by  this  means;  and 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  business  and  bustle  along  the 
river-front.  The  post-office  was  a  center  of  attraction, 
and  the  arrival  of  the  mail  furnished  a  mild  excitement. 

My  grandfather  was  the  "First  Citizen"  in  the  little 
village  community,  where  his  will  and  word  were  quite 
paramount  and  authoritative,  and  his  actual  magistracy 
potential  in  securing  its  good  order.  He  was  a  man  of 
striking  figure,  tall,  erect  and  vigorous;  a  man  of  strong 
character  and  decided  opinions.  He  was  devoted  to  the 
care  of  his  garden,  which,  like  the  apple  orchard,  seemed 
to  be  safe  against  all  the  vicissitudes  of  the  seasons  or  the 
unfriendliness  of  nature,  and  was  an  unfailing  source  of 
supply  from  early  spring  to  late  autumn.  This  garden 

18 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

was  indispensable,  because  the  market  facilities  of  Stuy- 
vesant  were  exceedingly  limited,  and  the  opportunities 
for  securing  fresh  meat  of  any  kind  infrequent.  On 
this  account  the  shad  season  had  a  peculiar  interest.  At 
that  time  shad,  which  were  of  very  fine  quality,  easily 
found  their  way  in  large  numbers  as  far  north  as  Stuy- 
vesant. 

I  recall  a  story  told  of  my  grandfather  in  connection 
with  this  special  subject  which  is  characteristic  of  his  sense 
of  justice  and  the  kind  of  grim  humor  he  associated  with 
it.  There  were  on  "The  Hill"  two  perennial  springs  of 
pure  water:  one  near  the  house,  which  gave  a  supply 
for  all  the  ordinary  uses  of  the  family;  the  other  lower 
down,  not  so  commonly  used.  Drawing  water  from  the 
latter  spring  one  morning  in  the  shad  season,  my  grand 
father  perceived  a  strong  fishy  flavor  in  the  usually  pure 
water.  Mistrusting  the  cause,  he  arose  at  an  unusually 
early  hour  the  next  morning,  went  to  the  spring,  and  in 
its  clear  water  found,  suspended  by  a  string,  a  large  shad 
which  had  evidently  been  placed  there  overnight  for  pres 
ervation  and  cooling.  Simultaneously  my  grandfather's 
neighbor  appeared  on  the  further  side  of  the  fence  which 
separated  his  properties  from  "The  Hill."  Before  he 
could  say  a  word  my  grandfather  called  out  to  him  that 
he  had  had  a  wonderful  piece  of  luck  and  had  actually 
caught  a  shad  in  his  spring,  holding  it  up  in  full  view. 
The  detected  neighbor  had  not  the  courage  to  assert  his 
right  of  property  in  the  shad,  well  knowing  that  this  would 
be  conclusive  proof  that  he  had  been  guilty  of  a  trespass, 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

and  my  grandfather  walked  home  with  his  fish  as  law 
ful  prize. 

I  have  often  regretted  that  it  was  not  possible  to  re 
tain  this  homestead,  with  all  its  delightful  associations, 
in  our  family,  but  after  the  opening  of  the  Hudson  River 
Railroad  the  river  traffic  of  Stuyvesant  was  quite  destroyed. 
My  grandparents'  age  and  infirmities  compelled  them  to 
leave  the  place  and  to  live  in  their  extreme  old  age  in 
homes  of  their  children,  none  of  whom  could  by  any  pos 
sibility  make  a  residence  at  "The  Hill,"  and  so  it  passed 
to  new  owners  and  went  gradually  to  decay.  My  grand 
father  died  in  the  city  of  New  York,  February  27,  1847, 
aged  eighty-one,  and  my  grandmother1  at  Stuyvesant, 
September  n,  1856,  aged  eighty-three. 

'Medad  Butler  married,  in  1794,  at  Kinderhook  Landing,  Hannah  Tylee, 
daughter  of  Samuel  Tylee  and  Hannah  Emmons.  Twelve  children  were  born  of 
this  marriage,  of  whom  my  grandfather,  Benjamin  Franklin  Butler,  was  the  eldest, 
and  of  whom  only  six  survived  infancy.  On  page  ante  16  my  father  states  that 
no  one  of  Medad  Butler's  numerous  male  descendants  ever  bore  his  Christian 
name.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Walter  Butler,  the  third  son  of  Medad  Butler  named 
one  of  his  twelve  children  "  Charles  Medad  Butler."  The  child  lived  but  three 
months  and  the  fact  was  naturally  forgotten. 


20 


CHAPTER  II 

EDWARD  C.  DELAVAN — TEMPERANCE  AND  TOTAL  ABSTINENCE — DELA- 
VAN'S  EXPIATORY  LIBATION — DELAVAN  HOUSE — A  CONFERENCE  ON 
TOTAL  ABSTINENCE — THE  SO-CALLED  BEER  TRIAL — WILLIAM  B. 
SPRAGUE — ANECDOTES — ALBANY  ACADEMY — DR.  BULLIONS — GREEN- 
BUSH  AND  SCHODACK  ACADEMY — CHOLERA  EPIDEMIC — TRIP  TO  UTICA. 

\  MONG  the  men  of  note  in  Albany  whom  I  knew 
•*  *-  when  a  boy  and  with  whom  my  friendship  continued 
during  all  their  lives  was  Edward  C.  Delavan,  known  all 
the  civilized  world  over  as  a  foremost  and  persistent  ad 
vocate  of  total  abstinence  and  prohibition.  It  is  stated 
in  Appleton's  "Cyclopedia  of  American  Biography"  that 
he  was  a  wine-merchant.  Whether  he  acquired  his  fort 
une  in  that  business  or  by  successful  operations  in  real 
estate  or  other  ventures,  I  do  not  know,  but  when  as  a  boy 
I  first  became  acquainted  with  him  he  had  retired  from 
business  and  was  engaged  in  good  works.  He  was  then 
living  on  Washington  Street,  north  of  the  Capitol,  in  one 
of  the  finest  houses  in  Albany.  In  his  earlier  efforts  for 
the  promotion  of  temperance,  in  which  he  was  associated 
with  Dr.  Eliphalet  Nott,  the  president  of  Union  College, 
my  father  cooperated  with  great  vigor  and  zeal.  The 
movement  was  directed  against  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  as 
a  beverage,  a  reform  greatly  needed,  but  nowhere  more 
than  in  Albany,  to  which,  as  the  capital  of  the  State,  the 

21 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

legislature,  the  courts  and  the  administrative  offices  drew 
citizens  from  all  parts  of  the  commonwealth. 

A  general  indulgence  in  strong  drink  was  one  of  the 
serious  evils  of  the  time.  The  temperance  societies  or 
ganized  in  connection  with  this  good  work  were  numerous 
and  accomplished  excellent  results.  Mr.  Delavan,  how 
ever,  was  not  satisfied  with  what  he  considered  only  the 
first  step  in  a  radical  reform,  and  he  reached  the  con 
clusion  that  the  scriptural  rule  of  conduct  for  all  right- 
minded  Christian  men  was  not  temperance  but  total  ab 
stinence.  As  a  practical  and  public  attestation  of  the 
sincerity  of  his  belief  he  one  day  took  from  his  cellar  all 
his  fine  wines  and  liquors,  and,  emptying  bottle  after 
bottle,  poured  their  contents  as  an  expiatory  libation  into 
the  gutter  of  the  street  in  front  of  his  house,  whence  they 
flowed  down  the  hill  in  the  direction  of  the  Capitol. 
From  that  day  till  his  death,  he  was  the  unflinching  foe 
of  all  intoxicants,  denouncing  their  use  even  for  the  most 
sacred  purposes,  but  was  not  always  as  successful  as  he 
meant  to  be  in  the  enforcement  of  his  principles. 

When  Mr.  Delavan  built  the  Delavan  House,  in 
tended  to  be,  as  it  soon  became,  the  leading  hotel  in  the 
State  capital,  he  determined  that  no  intoxicants  should 
be  permitted  within  its  walls  or  served  to  its  guests,  and 
when  he  executed  a  long  lease  to  the  tenant  who  became 
the  proprietor  of  the  hotel,  he  took  special  pains  to  insert 
a  prohibitory  covenant  to  accomplish  this  object.  He 
omitted,  however,  to  include  a  provision  for  forfeiture  in 
case  of  a  breach  of  this  covenant,  and  so  when  the  tenant 

22 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

soon  afterward  broke  it  by  setting  up  a  bar  and  supply 
ing  his  guests  with  wine,  ale  and  all  other  beverages  com 
mon  to  ordinary  hotels,  Mr.  Delavan's  only  remedy  was 
an  action  for  damages  for  the  breach  of  the  covenant. 
Inasmuch,  however,  as  the  tenant  could  easily  prove  that 
not  only  no  damage  ensued  from  his  act,  but  the  in 
creased  revenues  of  the  hotel  made  the  payment  of  the 
rent  more  secure,  no  damages,  or  at  least,  only  nominal 
damages  were  recoverable;  and  so  until  the  Delavan 
House  sank  into  a  shapeless  mass  of  ruins  under  the  blaze 
of  a  destructive  fire  in  1895,  it  stood  as  a  memorial  of  the 
name,  but  in  no  sense  of  the  principles,  of  its  builder. 

My  father,  while  always  most  temperate  even  to  ab 
stinence,  could  not  follow  Mr.  Delavan  in  his  extreme 
views,  and  never  adopted  them.  This  was  a  source  of 
great  grief  to  Mr.  Delavan,  who  in  his  endeavor  to  enlist 
my  father  in  his  new  departure  used  all  available  means, 
including  an  article  on  the  supposed  Scriptural  rule  of 
abstinence,  written  by  a  certain  English  clergyman,  named 
Edwin  James.  The  argument  was  based  in  part  on  the 
statement  that  wherever  wine  was  mentioned  in  Holy 
Writ  it  was  always  condemned,  except  when  the  unfer- 
mented  juice  of  the  grape  was  intended  to  be  designated. 
The  author  of  this  article  was  the  editor  of  the  Temper 
ance  Recorder,  published  in  Albany  under  Mr.  Delavan's 
supervision. 

Anticipating  that  an  interview  between  Dr.  James  and 
my  father  would  result  in  the  latter's  giving  his  adhesion 
to  the  dictum  of  total  abstinence,  Mr.  Delavan  arranged 

23 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

for  such  a  meeting.  My  father  readily  assented  to  the 
interview,  but  during  the  interval  preceding  it  went 
through  the  Scriptures  with  a  view  to  noting  every  in 
stance  in  which,  according  to  the  authorized  version,  the 
word  "wine"  was  used  either  with  approval  or  with 
condemnation.  I  well  remember  his  being  engaged  dur 
ing  some  summer  Sundays  in  the  task.  He  was  not  a 
Hebrew  scholar  but  his  object  in  the  compilation  of  texts 
was  to  enable  him  to  test  the  accuracy  of  the  statements 
in  Dr.  James's  book  by  calling  upon  him  to  explain  the 
meaning  and  use  of  the  Hebrew  word  in  the  several  texts 
from  which  my  father  had  taken  the  English  equivalent. 
Thus  prepared  for  the  conference  with  Dr.  James,  he 
met  that  gentleman  with  a  result  quite  unexpected  to 
him  and  to  the  friend  who  had  brought  them  together. 
Mr.  Delavan  himself  gave  me  an  account  of  the  interview 
many  years  after  its  occurrence,  not,  indeed,  till  after  my 
father's  death,  and  later,  in  1866,  at  my  request  wrote  the 
particulars  of  it  which  I  give. 

After  speaking  of  the  interest  with  which  he  had 
looked  forward  to  the  conference  of  "two  learned  Chris 
tian  men"  on  this  subject,  he  continued: 

"I  saw  that  if  Dr.  James  could  be  sustained  the  cause 
would  be  placed  on  the  most  impregnable  basis,  on  God's 
Word,  and  nothing  could  overthrow  it. 

"  For  some  time  it  appeared  that  all  things  were  going 
on  smoothly  to  sustain  Dr.  James,  but  all  at  once  your 
father  read  a  text  where  'Yayin'  was  introduced.  'Now 
tell  me,  Dr.  James,'  said  your  father,  'does  Yayin  here 

24 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

mean  intoxicating  wine  ? '  I  saw  at  once  my  friend 
Dr.  James  appeared  to  be  confused  if  not  confounded. 
The  blood  rushed  to  his  face  and  he  declined  to  answer 
to  your  father's  satisfaction,  who  at  once  rolled  up  his 
papers  and  left  the  office,  and  I  have  no  doubt  he  then 
made  up  his  mind  we  must  look  elsewhere  than  to  the 
Bible  as  authority  for  total  abstinence  as  a  duty.  I 
deeply  regretted  at  the  time  that  Dr.  James  had  not 
been  more  candid  and  acknowledged  that  the  text  re 
ferred  to  by  your  father  did  appear  to  militate  against 
his  position  and  that  he  must  examine  still  further  into 
the  question.  But  as  this  was  not  done,  your  father,  I 
conclude,  felt  that  Dr.  James  was  unwilling  to  ac 
knowledge  an  error,  and  that  his  position  could  not  be 
sustained." 

Mr.  Delavan  went  on  in  his  letter  to  claim  that  Dr. 
James's  contention  was  substantially  correct,  although  he 
failed  to  make  it  good  on  the  occasion  referred  to,  and  that 
the  "Christian  world  has  been  misled  on  the  'wine  ques 
tion  '  through  the  English  translation  of  the  Bible."  In 
closing  he  said:  "I  once  stated  to  you  the  substance  of 
this  letter,  but  I  conclude  this  reminiscence  of  the  past 
will  not  be  uninteresting  to  you  and  I  send  it.  I  think  the 
interview  between  Dr.  James  and  your  father  at  my 
office  was  a  third  of  a  century  ago.  I  am,  my  dear 
sir,  your  friend,  as  I  was  your  father's,  Edward  C. 
Delavan." 

Albany  society  was  stirred  to  its  depths  in  the  spring 
of  1840  by  the  so-called  "Beer  Trial"  in  a  suit  brought 

25 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

against  Mr.  Delavan  for  libel  by  John  Taylor,  the  pro 
prietor  of  a  great  brewing  establishment  on  the  hill  in 
the  upper  part  of  the  city.  Mr.  Delavan  became  respon 
sible  for  the  statement  made  in  the  Albany  Evening  Jour 
nal  in  February,  1835,  tnat  tne  water  which  supplied  Tay 
lor's  Brewery  was  taken  from  stagnant  pools,  gutters  and 
ditches,  and  even  often  from  puddles  covered  with  filth, 
in  which  there  were  dead  animals.  For  the  publication 
of  the  alleged  libelous  charges  Mr.  Taylor  claimed  to 
recover  $70,000  damages.  Mr.  Delavan  accepted  the 
challenge  of  the  plaintiff,  alleging  the  truth  of  the  state 
ments  made  in  the  Evening  Journal. 

At  the  trial  the  most  eminent  lawyers  in  Albany  ap 
peared  for  the  respective  parties.  It  was  severely  con 
tested.  Judge  Cushman,  before  whom  the  case  was 
tried,  made  an  elaborate  charge  to  the  jury,  in  which  he 
told  them  that  the  publications  in  question  were  calcu 
lated  to  do  the  plaintiff  great  injury  in  his  business  and 
character;  that  the  defendant  was  proved  to  be  a  man 
of  large  wealth,  a  fact  which  the  jury  might  take  into 
consideration  in  deciding  on  the  amount  of  their  verdict 
should  it  be  given  for  the  plaintiff.  He  charged  them, 
however,  that  if  the  defense  had  been  made  out  to  their 
satisfaction,  the  defendant  would  be  entitled  to  a  verdict, 
as  any  citizen  is  at  liberty  to  publish  the  truth,  especially  as 
to  facts  which  ought  to  be  known  to  the  community  at 
large.  After  a  consultation  of  about  an  hour,  the  jury 
rendered  a  verdict  for  the  defendant,  a  great  triumph 
for  Mr.  Delavan. 

26 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

Another  conspicuous  figure  in  Albany  life,  always  be 
fore  me  on  Sundays  and  often  on  week-days,  with  whom 
I  continued  in  close  relations  of  friendship  till  his  death, 
in  1876,  was  Dr.  William  B.  Sprague,  the  pastor  of  the 
Second  Presbyterian  Church,  in  Chapel  Street,  where 
he  preached  for  many  years  to  a  congregation  which  in 
cluded  very  many  of  the  worthiest  and  most  influential 
citizens  of  Albany. 

He  was  a  very  fluent  writer,  with  a  somewhat  florid 
style,  but  always  clear  and  forcible.  He  is  known  as  an 
author  by  his  work,  "Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit," 
and  many  minor  publications,  his  memorial  sermons  be 
ing  very  numerous.  He  was  a  man  of  rather  impressive 
presence,  very  sensitive  to  public  opinion  or  criticism,  but 
strong  in  the  defense  of  his  own  views  and  warm  in  his 
personal  friendships.  His  deference  to  the  supposed 
views  of  those  of  his  fellow-citizens  whom  he  respected, 
is  illustrated  by  a  story,  which  lingers  in  my  memory,  of 
a  practical  joke  of  which  he  was  the  victim.  Some  Albany 
wag  had  wagered  or  asserted  that  he  could  procure  a 
petition  signed  by  some  prominent  Albanians  praying 
that  Dr.  Sprague  be  hanged,  and  the  doctor  himself 
would  sign  it.  And  according  to  the  story  the  doctor  did 
sign  it,  at  sight  of  the  respectable  names  appearing  on 
the  paper,  without  troubling  himself  to  read  its  contents. 
Very  likely  this  was  an  ancient  joke  adapted  to  a  modern 
use,  according  to  the  immemorial  usage  of  story-tellers. 
In  my  own  reading  I  remember  to  have  found  the  oft- 
repeated  legend  which  tells  how  William  the  Conqueror 

27 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

on  landing  in  England  stumbled  and  fell  but,  instantly 
grasping  a  handful  of  earth,  rose  to  his  feet  exclaiming 
that  he  had  taken  the  English  soil  in  fee,  related  in  almost 
identical  terms  by  Suetonius  of  the  first  Caesar. 

A  better-attested  story  of  Dr.  Sprague,  and  bear 
ing  an  undoubted  ear-mark  of  authenticity,  is  that  after 
the  birth  of  one  of  his  younger  sons  he  was  for  some  time 
in  doubt  as  to  what  name  he  should  give  him,  and  the 
matter,  as  usual  in  such  cases,  was  a  subject  of  family 
discussion.  Late  one  evening  the  good  doctor,  who  was 
a  warm  friend  and  great  admirer  of  Ambrose  Spencer, 
the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State, 
knocked  at  the  door  of  his  eldest  daughter,  who  had  re 
tired,  and  called  out  to  her  that  he  had  decided  on  a 
name  for  her  little  brother,  announcing  that  it  was  to  be 
"Ambrose  Spencer  Sprague."  A  faint  voice  from  within 
responded,  "Father,  think  of  the  initials/'  The  doctor 
retired  and  another  name  had  to  be  discovered.1 

Besides  his  pulpit  and  pastoral  work  and  his  literary 
labors,  Dr.  Sprague  was  an  indefatigable  collector  of 
autographs.  His  activities  in  this  direction  covered  both 
hemispheres  and  he  accumulated  a  vast  collection  of  val 
uable  documents  and  letters,  making  it  one  of  the  best 
in  the  United  States.  While  Dr.  Sprague  was  also  a 
warm  friend  of  the  temperance  movement,  he,  too,  parted 
company  with  Mr.  Delavan  on  the  question  of  total 
abstinence.  He  was  a  devoted  friend  of  my  father,  at 

1  The  "little  brother"  referred  to,  now  a  well-known  lawyer  practising  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  was  finally  named  for  Edward  Everett,  the  famous  orator  and 
intimate  friend  of  Dr.  Sprague. — ED. 

28 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY   YEARS 

whose  funeral  he  delivered  a  most  tender  and  beautiful 
eulogy. 

The  Albany  Academy  is  one  of  the  few  ancient 
landmarks  of  the  city  that  have  not  yet  been  removed. 
At  an  early  age  I  was  a  pupil  within  its  walls,  and  the 
instruction  in  Latin  which  my  father  had  begun  to  give 
me  when  I  was  seven  years  old  was  continued  by  Doctor 
Bullions,  a  classical  teacher  of  repute,  author  of  several 
text-books,  and  vigorous  with  the  use  of  the  rattan,  the 
infliction  of  which  I  escaped  more  by  the  reason  of  my 
tender  years  than  by  any  proficiency  in  my  studies. 

[Although  it  is  not  mentioned  in  his  reminiscences,  we 
find  from  letters  passing  between  his  parents  that  in  the 
spring  of  1832  my  father  was  sent  to  the  Greenbush  and 
Schodack  Academy.  He  remained  but  a  short  time.  His 
speedy  return  home  may  have  been  due  to  his  extreme 
youth,  which  could  not  endure  a  separation  from  his 
family.  We  find  his  father  writing  to  his  mother  about 
three  weeks  after  the  child  had  been  sent  away,  "It 
grieves  me  to  hear  that  our  dear  boy  has  suffered  so  much. 
He  shall  not  stay  where  he  is  homesick.  But  it  is  best  not 
to  be  too  hasty  in  taking  him  away,  lest  a  permanent 
injury  should  be  done  to  him,  as  I  suppose  sooner  or 
later  he  will  be  obliged  to  leave  the  parental  wing  and  to 
inure  himself  to  the  pain  of  separation.  As  soon  as  I  re 
turn  (which  I  pray  may  be  soon)  we  will  go  out  to  see 
the  dear  little  fellow  and  do  then  what  circumstances 
may  require." 

Circumstances  did  require  my  father's  removal  from 
the  school,  as  about  that  time  cholera  broke  out  in  Albany 
and  my  grandfather  moved  his  family  to  the  then  famous 
Albany  hotel,  Congress  Hall.  All  of  this  we  learn  from  a 
letter  written  by  the  "dear  little  fellow"  of  seven  to  his 
aunt,  Mrs.  Nathan  Chamberlin,  then  residing  in  Hudson: 

29 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

ALBANY,  July  2ist,  1832 
MY  DEAR  AUNT: 

I  suppose  you  enjoy  yourself  very  much  in  Hudson, 
but  I  can  assure  you  that  we  are  very  lonesome  without 
you.  We  would  be  very  glad  indeed  to  see  you. 

The  cholera,  as  I  suppose  you  know,  is  making  con 
siderable  havoc  here.  There  has  been  to-day  as  some  say 
46  cases  and  15  deaths;  but  there  has  been  but  40  cases 
and  1 1  deaths  reported.  We  are  quite  prisoners  here,  for 
we  cannot  go  very  far  from  the  house  for  fear  of  this  disease. 

It  is  delightful  up  at  Congress  Hall;  we  have  fine 
rooms,  and  every  enjoyment  we  could  wish  for.  Mr.  H. 
sends  his  love  and  says  if  he  leaves  Albany  on  account  of 
the  cholera  he  will  probably  come  to  Hudson  where  he 
will  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you.  That  he  is  not 
married  yet  but  hopes  he  will  be  at  this  time  next  year 
that  is  if  he  has  good  luck.  Martin  says  that  when  he 
finds  how  much  love  he  possesses  he  will  give  you  half. 
He  also  says  that  when  the  weather  gets  cooler  he  will 
try  to  get  down  to  Hudson  if  you  do  not  make  your  ap 
pearance  in  this  quarter  before  then,  which  he  sincerely 
hopes  you  will.  He  wishes  to  be  kindly  remembered 
to  your  husband. 

But  I  must  go  back  to  myself.  I  do  not  go  to 
school  at  present.  I  went  for  a  short  time  to  the  Green- 
bush  and  Schodack  Academy,  but  Father  took  me  away 
for  he  thought  that  in  the  present  state  of  things  it  would 
be  pleasanter  to  have  me  at  home;  neither  do  any  of  the 
rest  of  us  attend  school.  Dr.  Lacey  has  been  married  to 
Miss  Smith  who  you  remember  Harriet  and  Mary  went 
to  school  to.  Dr.  Lacey's  family  have  removed  to  Pitts- 
burg  in  Pennsylvania.  They  started  on  Thursday  last. 
Several  families  have  left  town.  Judge  VanderpoePs 
family  have  gone  to  Kinderhook. 

We  all  send  our  love  to  you  and  our  uncle.  Believe 
me  dear  Aunt  your 

Affectionate  Nephew 

W.  H.  A.  BUTLER. 

30 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

In  the  summer  of  1833  my  father  took  what  was  doubt 
less  his  first  journey  of  any  consequence,  when  he  and  his 
sister  Mary1  accompanied  their  father  on  one  of  his 
frequent  professional  trips.  This  time  it  was  a  cause  at 
Utica  in  which  my  grandfather's  services  were  required, 
and  as  his  sister  had  married  Dr.  Charles  B.  Coventry 
•of  that  town  it  was  arranged  that  the  children  should 
pay  their  relatives  a  visit  while  their  father  stayed  at  the 
.•still  well-known  Bagg's  Hotel.  At  this  period  the  jour 
ney  from  Albany  to  Utica  took  almost  twenty-four  hours, 
first  by  coach  to  Schenectady  and  then  by  canal  to  Utica. 

My  grandfather  writes  on  July  3,  1833: — 

"We  had  a  pleasant  ride  to  Schenectady.  Although 
the  weather  was  warm  the  carriage  was  not  crowded  and 
we  got  along  extremely  well.  Whilst  staying  at  Schenec 
tady  the  heat  seemed  to  increase  with  a  constant  progress, 
so  that  when  we  came  to  be  stowed  into  the  canal  boat 
we  soon  found  ourselves  in  a  roasting  condition.  How 
ever,  we  made  out  to  stand  it  pretty  well,  especially  as 
we  had  the  benefit  of  a  change  in  the  temperature  toward 
evening.  I  could  not  but  enjoy  the  sail  along  the  beau 
tiful  valley  of  the  Mohawk  when  I  witnessed  the  gratifi 
cation  and  enjoyment  of  our  dear  children.  William 
thought  the  canal  boat  the  pleasantest  mode  of  travelling 
he  had  ever  known, — and  Mary  was  evidently  pleased 
with  the  fine  scenery  through  which  we  constantly  passed. 
Both  behaved  extremely  well,  so  that  I  had  reason  to  be 
proud  of  their  appearance  and  conduct. 

"Will  slept  soundly  but  woke  at  break  of  day  and 
immediately  quit  his  bed  to  see  the  locks,  etc.,  at  Little 
Falls,  some  of  which  Mary  had  also  an  opportunity  of 
seeing,  though  she  did  not  rise  so  early  as  her  brother. 

"The  heat  was  intense  again  yesterday  morning,  so 
that  we  were  greatly  relieved  when  the  hour  came  to  land 
at  Utica.  Finding  that  Dr.  Coventry  lived  very  near 
the  canal,  at  the  entrance  of  the  village,  I  stoppea  with 

1  Afterward  the  wife  of  Daniel  DeForest  Lord. 

31 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

the  children  and  safely  deposited  them  with  their  aunt 
before  I  went  to  Bagg's. 

"We  reached  Utica  at  12  o'clock  and  before  one  there 
came  up  a  prodigiously  severe  rain  storm,  so  that  I  could 
not  but  recollect  the  old  remark  which  I  have  had  so 
many  occasions  to  reiterate,  that  Utica  is  the  most  rainy 
place  in  the  State.  .  .  . 

"The  boys  have  just  begun  to  fire  crackers,  the  liberty 
pole  has  been  hoisted  and  the  flag  unfurled  so  that  we  are 
admonished  that  the  4th  of  July  is  approaching." 

Two  days  later  my  father  writes  to  his  mother  of  the 
continued  celebration  and  humorously  mentions  that 
"Day  before  yesterday  (the  fourth)  I  went  to  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  to  hear  some  gentlemen  speak 
among  whom  was  Mr.  B.  F.  Butler  who  made  a  very  fine 
address." — ED.] 


CHAPTER   III 

OFFERS  TO  BENJAMIN  F.  BUTLER  OF  UNITED  STATES  SENATORSHIP  AND 
STATE  SUPREME  COURT  JUDGESHIP — HIS  REFUSALS — BENCH  AND  BAR 
OF  NEW  YORK — COMMISSION  FOR  SETTLING  BOUNDARY  LINE  BETWEEN 
NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  JERSEY — ALBANY  REGENCY — VAN  BUREN's 
LETTER — UNITED  STATES  ATTORNEY-GENERALSHIP  OFFERED  TO  BEN 
JAMIN  F.  BUTLER — HIS  ACCEPTANCE — TESTIMONIAL — CORRESPOND 
ENCE. 

I  WELL  remember  the  day  in  the  latter  part  of  1833 
when  my  father  told  us  he  had  sold  the  house  in  State 
Street  to  Mr.  Joel  Rathbone,  a  leading  merchant  of  Al 
bany,  and  that  we  were  to  go  to  Washington  and  would 
probably  never  return  to  Albany.  And  so  it  proved. 
He  had  refused  to  consider  the  United  States  senator- 
ship,  although  election  by  the  legislature  to  this  office 
had  been  urgently  pressed  upon  him  in  1833.  He  never 
would  take  any  office  except  a  purely  professional  one. 
Mr.  Van  Buren,  in  whose  office  my  father  had  studied 
law,  whose  partner  he  became,  and  to  whose  business 
he  had  succeeded  when  his  former  chief  entered  the  Cab 
inet  of  President  Jackson  in  1828  as  Secretary  of  State, 
was  very  solicitous  that  my  father  should  come  to  Wash 
ington  and  be  identified  with  the  administration. 

But  my  parents,  especially  my  mother,  strongly  ob 
jected  to  breaking  up  their  home  in  Albany.  My  father 
had  attained  the  highest  rank  in  his  profession  and  oc- 

33 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

cupied  a  unique  position  as  the  foremost  counsel  in  the 
Court  of  Errors,  or  more  properly  the  Court  for  the  Cor 
rection  of  Errors,  as  our  court  of  last  resort  in  this  State 
was  then  termed.  This  is  easily  attested  by  the  fact 
that  in  the  session  held  in  1833  in  New  York,  of  the  whole 
number  of  eighteen  cases,  reported  in  the  eleventh  volume 
of  Wendell's  Reports,  he  was  counsel  in  nine  and  these 
of  the  first  importance.  In  a  home  letter,  written  during 
his  attendance  at  this  term  of  the  court,  he  says  that  he  is 
glad  to  have  an  associate  counsel  in  one  of  his  many 
cases,  as  he  fears  the  court  will  weary  of  continuously 
hearing  arguments  by  himself. 

His  relations  at  this  time  to  the  bench  and  bar  of  the 
State  were  particularly  agreeable.  The  means  of  access 
to  the  capital  from  remote  and  interior  points,  and,  dur 
ing  the  winter  season,  even  from  New  York,  were  so  in 
adequate  in  comparison  with  those  now  existing,  that  a 
journey  to  Albany  was  a  serious  affair.  The  employ 
ment  of  local  counsel  at  the  sessions  of  the  courts  held  at 
Albany  was  far  more  frequent  then  than  now,  and  of  the 
practice  thus  created  he  enjoyed  a  very  large  share.  His 
position  in  this  regard  was  similar  to  that  afterward 
enjoyed  by  Nicholas  Hill,  one  of  the  brightest  ornaments 
of  the  bar  of  this  State,  and  its  most  conspicuous  leader 
in  the  court  of  last  resort. 

Governor  Marcy  desired  to  appoint  my  father  to  the 
bench  of  the  Supreme  Court,  as  successor  to  Judge  Suth 
erland,  who  had  resigned  his  place  on  the  bench  owing 
to  the  inadequacy  of  the  salary  and  accepted  the  more 

34 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

lucrative  office  of  clerk  of  the  court.  Chief  Justice 
Savage,  who  presided  in  the  court  during  the  whole 
period  of  the  revision  and  for  six  years  after  its  com 
pletion,  wrote  my  father  a  letter  communicating  the  offer, 
and  urging  its  acceptance  in  these  words  of  warm  per 
sonal  friendship:  "The  office  of  judge,  permit  me  to 
say,  is  one  to  which  you  are  well  adapted;  and  in  which 
you  can  render  as  great  service  to  your  native  State  as  in 
any  other.  It  is  one  in  which  you  will  probably  enjoy 
as  much  human  happiness  as  any  other,  and  in  which 
you  will  have  as  much  leisure  for  literary  pursuits,  per 
haps,  as  in  the  duties  of  an  arduous  profession;  and  sup 
posing  you  to  have,  as  all  members  of  the  profession  ought 
to  have,  a  laudable  ambition  for  an  elevated  standing  as 
a  jurist  and  scholar,  in  which  of  the  walks  of  learning 
can  you  have  a  better  field  for  the  exercise  of  your  powers  ? 
This  is  a  subject  on  which  I  need  not  attempt  to  persuade 
you;  you  must  act  as  your  judgment  directs.  I  will  only 
remark  further,  that  should  you  accept  the  office,  there 
is  every  probability  that  in  a  few  years  at  furthest  you 
will  preside  over  the  court.  And  I  need  not  inform  you 
that,  in  my  estimation,  that  station  is  as  honorable  as  any 
in  our  State,  and  is  surpassed  by  but  few  in  the  United 
States." 

The  Chief  Justice,  however,  with  the  candor  and  fair 
ness  which  characterized  him,  did  not  fail  to  point  out 
to  his  friend  that  unless  he  already  had  money  in  his 
purse  sufficient  for  his  future  wants,  the  judicial  office  was 
to  be  shunned.  The  want  of  a  proper  compensation  for 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

his  services  had  driven  Judge  Sutherland  from  the  bench 
which  he  adorned,  and  the  Chief  Justice,  referring  to  this 
circumstance,  says,  "The  cause  of  that  resignation  is 
rather  calculated  to  deter  those  who  are  most  competent 
to  fill  the  vacancy  from  accepting  the  station.  Indeed, 
if  a  man  wishes  to  be  rich  he  should  become  so  before  he 
ascends  the  bench." 

The  meager  pittance  then  allowed  by  the  State  to  our 
Supreme  Court  judges  was  of  itself  a  bar  to  the  accept 
ance  of  judicial  office  by  any  man  with  a  large  family 
and  an  ample  professional  practice,  and  so  the  place  on 
the  bench  was  declined.  Fortunately  for  the  State,  an 
incumbent  was  found  so  situated  as  to  be  able  to  accept 
the  vacant  seat,  and  endowed  with  rare  judicial  qualities. 
The  long  and  conspicuous  career  of  Samuel  Nelson  in  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  and  afterward  in  the  Su 
preme  Court  of  the  United  States,  was  one  of  the  most 
noted  examples  of  eminence  and  fidelity  in  the  annals 
of  the  American  judiciary. 

In  February,  1833,  Peter  A.  Jay  and  my  father,  both 
of  New  York,  were  appointed,  with  Theodore  Frelinghuy- 
sen,  of  New  Jersey,  a  commission  to  settle  the  contro 
versy  of  half  a  century's  duration  as  to  the  boundary  line 
between  the  two  States,  a  service  resulting  in  the  con 
vention  which  has  ever  since  controlled  the  jurisdiction 
and  rights  of  these  States  as  respects  their  boundary 
line.1 

1  The  convention  was  dated  September  16,  1833,  and  is  found  in  the  Sessions 
Laws  of  New  York,  1834,  p.  8.  It  was  confirmed  by  Act  of  Congress,  June  28, 
1834,  4  Stat.  at  Large,  708,  and  has  been  construed  several  times  by  the  Supreme 

36 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

Meanwhile,  repeated  overtures  came  to  my  father 
from  Washington,  through  Mr.  Van  Buren,  looking  to 
his  acceptance  of  office  in  the  administration  of  General 
Jackson.  These  were  declined  as  often  as  they  were 
renewed,  until,  in  the  great  political  struggle  between  the 
national  administration  and  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States,  the  summons  to  Washington  seemed  so  impera 
tive  that  it  could  not  be  refused  without  apparently  plac 
ing  personal  considerations  above  public  duty. 

Up  to  this  time  the  whole  tenor  of  his  life  had  been 
undisturbed  by  any  influence  foreign  to  his  position  as  a 
leader  of  the  bar  of  his  native  State  and  to  an  active  in 
terest  in  the  stirring  public  questions  of  the  time.  His 
friendship  for  Mr.  Van  Buren  had  kept  him  in  close 
alliance  with  the  political  party  of  which  his  former  part 
ner  was  the  acknowledged  head,  and  in  co-operation  with 
Governor  Marcy,  Edwin  Croswell,  Azariah  C.  Flagg, 
Silas  Wright,  John  A.  Dix,  and  other  leading  public  men 
of  the  capital,  who,  from  their  union  in  political  action, 
had  acquired  the  sobriquet  of  the  "Albany  Regency." 
They  have  been  maligned  as  the  prototype  of  machine 
politicians,  but  there  never  was  a  more  groundless  charge. 
They  were  associated  not  only  for  the  promotion  of  party 
interest  but  mainly  for  the  sake  of  the  principles  which 
their  party  represented.  They  reaped  no  pecuniary  ad- 
Court,  one  decision  being  as  late  as  April,  1908,  in  the  case  of  the  Central  Rail 
road  Company  of  New  Jersey  v.  Jersey  City,  209  U.  S.  473. 

The  Commissioners  for  New  York  were  Benj.  F.  Butler,  Peter  Augustus  Jay, 
and  Henry  Seymour.  The  Commissioners  for  New  Jersey  were  Theodore 
Frelinghuysen,  James  Parker,  and  Lucius  Q.  C.  Elmer. — ED. 

37 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

vantages  for  themselves  from  their  combination  touching 
public  affairs.1 

No  one  of  them  grew  rich  or  advanced  his  personal 
fortune  by  his  connection  with  the  affairs  of  state.  I  be 
lieve  that  the  unifying  force  which  held  them  together 
and  made  them  a  power  in  the  State,  was  the  identity  of 
fheir  views  as  to  the  true  principles  of  government  and 
the  duties  imposed  upon  citizens.  Their  unselfish  and 
undeviating  personal  regard  for  Mr.  Van  Buren  was 
something  remarkable  and  rare  in  political  friendships. 

1  Referring  to  the  appointments  of  State  officers  by  Governor  DeWitt  Clinton 
during  his  second  term  of  office  from  1820  to  1823,  DeAlva  S.  Alexander  in  his 
"Political  History  of  the  State  of  New  York,"  published  1906,  makes  the  follow 
ing  statement  about  the  Albany  Regency. — Ed. 

"The  appointment  of  Talcott,  Marcy  and  Butler,  changed  the  existing  po 
litical  system.  Prior  to  their  activity,  the  distribution  of  patronage  depended 
largely  upon  the  local  boss.  His  needs  determined  the  men  who,  regardless  of 
their  personal  fitness,  should  be  given  office.  But  Talcott  and  his  colleagues  in 
troduced  new  methods,  with  a  higher  standard  of  political  morality,  and  a  better 
system  of  party  discipline.  They  refused  to  tolerate  unworthy  men,  and  when 
the  little  souls  stormed  and  raged,  their  wise  counsels  silenced  the  selfish  and 
staggered  the  boss.  Gradually,  their  control  of  patronage  and  of  the  party's 
policy  became  so  absolute  that  they  were  called  the  'Albany  Regency.'  It  was, 
at  first,  simply  a  name  given  them  by  Thurlow  Weed;  there  was  neither  organi 
zation  nor  legal  authority.  Power  came  from  their  great  ability  and  high  purpose. 

"The  Albany  Regency  was  destined  to  continue  many  years,  and  to  number 
among  its  members  men  of  character  and  great  influence. 

"But  the  men  who  organized  the  Regency,  giving  it  power  and  the  respect  of 
the  people,  by  refusing  to  do  what  their  fine  sense  of  honor  did  not  approve,  were 
Talcott,  Marcy  and  Butler.  It  was  as  remarkable  a  trio  as  ever  sat  about  a 
table. 

"In  the  passing  of  these  three  great  intellects  there  is  something  peculiarly 
touching.  Talcott  died  suddenly  at  the  early  age  of  forty-five,  leaving  the  mem 
bers  of  the  New  York  bar  as  sincere  mourners.  Butler,  after  the  highest  and 
purest  living,  died  at  fifty-nine  [a  mistake — it  should  be  sixty-two],  just  as  he 
landed  in  France  to  visit  the  scenes  of  which  he  had  read  and  dreamed.  Marcy, 
at  sixty-two,  having  recently  retired  as  President  Pierce's  Secretary  of  State,  was 
found  lifeless,  lying  upon  his  bed,  book  in  hand.  He  had  been  reading,  as  he 
had  read  since  childhood,  whenever  there  came  a  lull  in  the  demand  for  his 
wisdom,  his  counsel,  and  his  friendship." 

38 


A   RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

This  high  gift  and  faculty  of  attracting  to  himself,  by 
strong  ties  of  friendship,  able  and  upright  men  has  been 
well  cited  by  one  of  his  biographers1  as  a  proof  of  the  in 
trinsic  worth  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  character. 

To  those  persons  who  imagine  that  the  possession 
of  place  and  power  is  the  chief  aim  of  men  who,  by 
nature  and  association,  are  inclined  to  active  participation 
in  public  affairs,  I  would  commend  the  following  letter  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren  to  my  father.  It  is  a  striking  illustra 
tion  of  true  and  unselfish  friendship,  written  at  a  moment 
when  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  himself  the  subject  of  coarse 
ridicule  and  vituperation  on  the  part  of  his  political  op 
ponents,  based  on  incessant  charges  of  the  selfish  and 
sinister  motives  which  men  who  envied  him  his  success 
and  plotted  for  his  overthrow  never  weaned  of  imputing 
to  him.  It  bears  date  Washington,  November  8,  1833, 
and  is  as  follows: 

MY  DEAR  SIR: 

I  bespeak  for  the  proposition  I  am  about  to  make 
yours  and  Mrs.  Butler's  most  deliberate  consideration, 
before  you  conclude  to  reject  it.  I  say  Mrs.  B.'s,  be 
cause  in  whatever  relates  so  essentially  to  your  future 
welfare,  she  ought  of  right  to  be  consulted;  and  she  has 
on  a  former  occasion  shown  herself  so  much  wiser  than 
we  were,  that  it  would  be  a  positive  injustice,  to  refuse 
to  take  her  into  counsel  now. 

The  appointment  of  Mr.  Daniel  to  the  office  of  At 
torney  Genl.  was  published,  by  mistake,  before  his  posi 
tive  acceptance  had  been  ascertained.  He  has  been 
with  us,  and  after  a  full  and  frank  conversation  with  the 
President,  has  decided  not  to  accept  it.  With  the  reasons 

'Edward  M.  Shepard,  "Martin  Van  Buren"  (1899). 

39 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

for  that  decision,  which  he  came  to  with  the  greatest 
pain  and  reluctance,  it  is  unnecessary,  now,  to  trouble 
you.  Mr.  Daniel  is  a  gentleman  of  the  very  highest 
character,  and  very  respectable  talents,  but  does  not  enter 
tain  that  confidence  in  them  which  his  friends  think 
would  be  justifiable  and  there  were  urgent  family  and 
personal  obstacles.  The  President  thought,  as  I  in 
formed  you,  that  he  ought  to  go  South  for  this  appoint 
ment,  and  having  in  good  faith  done  so,  he  will  now  re 
gard  the  accidental  circumstance  of  the  publication  of 
Mr.  Daniel's  appointment  a  fortunate  incident,  if  it  shall, 
as  he  hopes,  enable  him  to  bring  into  his  cabinet,  one, 
whom  every  member  of  it  would  be  delighted  to  see  here, 
and  that  is  yourself.  Before  this  had  occurred,  I  would 
not  myself  have  proposed  it  to  you,  had  the  matter  been 
at  my  disposal.  Now,  I  think  it  free  from  difficulty  or 
objection.  The  President  will  with  the  greatest  pleasure 
confer  the  appointment  upon  you,  and  I  am  as  solicitous 
as  I  could  possibly  be  upon  any  subject  that  you  shall 
accept  it.  Independent  of  the  public  considerations 
which  are  amply  sufficient  to  justify  this  solicitude,  I 
feel  that  if  not  indispensable,  (though  extremely  impor 
tant),  for  the  present,  it  is,  in  reference  to  a  possible  fut 
ure,  most  fitting  as  it  respects  myself  that  you  should 
be  here  in  some  such  a  situation.  Not  one  word  is  nec 
essary,  I  know,  to  satisfy  you  that  I  would  not  press  my 
personal  solicitude  upon  you,  as  I  for  the  first  time  freely 
do,  if  I  were  not  entirely  satisfied,  that  what  I  ask  of  you 
will  promote  your  own  interests,  and  those  of  your  family; 
or  at  the  least  that  it  will  certainly  not  prejudice  them.  I 
think  so  in  respect  to  all  the  points  which,  in  such  a  case, 
arise  for  consideration,  and  I  will  briefly  assign  my  rea 
sons.  Although,  you  will  recollect,  I  readily  concurred 
in  your  objection  to  taking  the  place  of  Senator,  I  have 
ever  since  been  impressed  with  the  belief  that  it  was  a 
sacrifice,  which  you  might  with  propriety  have  made.  I 
gave  in  to  your  views,  partly  because  I  feared  that  from 
your  gentlemanly  and  pacific  disposition,  (although  not 
wanting  in  spirit  when  its  exhibition  is  necessary,)  the 

40 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

rough  and  tumble  of  the  Senate  might  not  please  you; 
but  principally,  because  I  was  apprehensive  that  it  might 
affect  the  interests  of  your  family  in  a  pecuniary  point  of 
view.  That  now  presented  steers  entirely  clear  of  these 
objections,  and  has  advantages  which  ought  not  to  be 
lightly  overlooked. 

Although  you  are  not  the  slave  of  mad  ambition,  you 
are,  as  you  ought  to  be,  tenacious  of  your  professional 
standing.  That  cannot  be  increased  at  home,  and  can 
only  be  made  national,  by  becoming  identified  with  na 
tional  concerns.  Depend  upon  it,  my  dear  sir,  that  this 
is  so.  The  fact  presses  itself  upon  my  observation  almost 
daily,  when  I  find  how  little  is  known,  or  cared,  abroad, 
about  you  who  are  at  the  very  top  of  the  ladder  at  home. 
Mr.  Wirt,  Mr.  Webster,  Mr.  Pinckney  and  Mr.  Taney, 
although  possessing  the  same  talents,  would  not  have 
gone  beyond  a  passing  observation,  out  of  their  own 
States,  ii  they  had  not  entered  upon  the  national  theatre. 
You  recollect  to  have  merely  heard  of  Mr.  Taney,  whilst 
at  the  Washington  Bar;  now,  although  the  same  man,  he 
is  known  and  respected  as  a  man  of  talents  throughout 
the  Union.  The  reason  why  it  is  so,  it  is  unnecessary 
to  go  into;  the  fact  is  sufficient,  and  undeniable,  that 
the  great  body  of  the  people,  will  only  look  for  the  great 
men  of  the  Nation,  amongst  those  who  are  actually  en 
gaged  in  its  service.  Although  you  are  too  wise  to  be 
craving  for  a  distinction  of  this  sort,  you  are  at  the  same 
time  too  wise  to  be  indifferent  to  it.  Providence  has 
cut  you  out  for  its  acquisition  in  this  very  place,  and 
you  have  no  right  to  turn  back  upon  the  occasion,  which 
presents  it  to  you,  in  so  honorable,  and  entirely  unexcep 
tionable  a  manner.  In  a  pecuniary  point  of  view,  it 
cannot,  I  deliberately  think,  be  otherwise  than  beneficial. 
The  salary  is  $4500,  besides  office,  messenger,  clerks,  &c., 
and  occasional  compensation  from  the  Government  for 
services  which  do  not  necessarily  appertain  to  the  office. 
You  can  enter  upon  the  business  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  U.  S.  with  advantages,  which,  if  not  immediately 
equal  to  those  of  Webster,  (who  makes  his  thousands 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

not  to  say  tens  of  thousands  by  it),  they  very  soon  would 
be;  and  the  President  says  it  will  be  competent  for  you, 
without  prejudice  to  the  public  interest,  to  attend  the 
higher  Courts  at  N.  York  and  Albany.  All  previous 
Atty.  Genls.  who  desired  it  have  done  so  in  respect  to  their 
own  States.  To  the  former  place  you  will  next  season 
be  able  to  go  in  15  hours,  and  to  the  latter  in  a  day  and 
a  night.  What  then  is  there  to  prevent  you  from  in 
creasing  your  provision  for  your  children  which  I  admit 
to  be  obligatory  on  you  ?  Nothing,  that  I  can  see.  You 
can  live  as  cheap  here  as  in  N.  York.  Your  manner  of 
living  can  be  regulated  by  your  own  taste,  and  as  every 
body  knows  that  you  are  not  a  man  of  pleasure,  or  parade, 
nobody  will  gossip  about  you.  By  taking  this  course 
you  will  accomplish  what  you  are  all  so  anxious  about, 
viz.,  that  you  can  be  more  with  your  family  than  hereto 
fore.  The  only  exception  need  be,  your  visits  to  N. 
York,  during  me  sittings  of  the  Courts,  when  you  can 
take  your  family  with  you,  without  stopping  between 
this  and  N.  Y. — especially,  when  the  railroad,  the  mak 
ing  of  which  is  now  under  full  operation,  is  completed. 

I  recollect  when  the  subject  was  before  contingently 
discussed,  and  when  you  concluded  that  you  could  not 
take  it, — that  Mrs.  Butler  did  not  like  the  idea  of  bring 
ing  her  daughters  up  here.  Upon  reflection,  I  think  she 
will  find  that  objection  not  so  well  founded  as  she  then 
supposed.  Mr.  McLean,  Mr.  Taney,  Mr.  Woodbury  and 
Gov.  Cass,  have  each  a  houseful  or  little  girls  of  the  very 
finest  character,  and  I  am  quite  sure  that  the  society  for 
Mrs.  B.  and  the  children  would  be  at  least  as  good  here, 
as  in  N.  York;  and  if  she  cannot  possibly  do  without  bear 
ing  something  more  upon  the  subject  of  temperance  she  can 
count  upon  Gov.  Cass  as  a  never  failing  source.  He  has 
as  much  of  the  true  spirit  in  him  as  Norton  and  Delavan 
combined,  and  Mr.  Van  Vechten  and  Courtland  Van 
Rensselaer  to  boot.  But  to  return  from  this  digression, 
you  must  come.  I  tell  you  frankly  that  I  have  made  up 
my  mind  so  decidedly,  that  it  is  best  for  the  public,  for 
you  and  yours,  for  myself,  and  that  you  will  prove  so 

42 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

useful  and  acceptable  to  the  President,  that  I  cannot  think 
of  a  declination  with  composure.  As  you  were  willing 
in  the  exuberance  of  friendship  to  come  with  me  in  1829, 
as  Under  Secretary,  and  give  up  the  finest  professional 
prospects  man  ever  had,  I  shall  think  you  must  have 
undergone  some  strange  metamorphosis,  if  you  now  re 
fuse  to  come  into  the  Cabinet  with  those  professional 
prospects  enhanced,  instead  of  abandoned.  This  must 
in  the  first  instance  be  strictly  confined  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Flagg,  Croswell,  Dix,  and  John,1  with  whom  I  wish  you 
to  advise.  If  contrary  to  my  earnest  hope  you  determine 
to  decline  not  a  word  must  be  said  upon  the  subject.  If 
you  act  the  wiser  part,  you  may,  as  is  usual  in  such  cases, 
consult  with  your  friends  generally,  after  your  mind  is 
made  up.  I  nave  not  included  the  Gov.,2  because  he  is  I 
suppose  busy  with  his  message,  but  you  may  speak  to  him 
of  course  if  you  wish  it.  Tell  Mrs.  B.  I  shall  never  for 
give  her  if  she  throws  any  obstacles  in  the  way.  I  intend 
to  be  in  N.  York  on  Wednesday  of  next  week,  and  hope 
you  will  meet  me  there. 

It  will,  in  case  of  acceptance  be  necessary  that  you 
should  come  down  immediately,  for  a  day  or  two  only 
to  sign  some  patents  which  are  waiting  the  Atty.  GenTs 
signature,  and  there  is  no  authority  to  appoint  an  acting 
Atty.  After  that,  you  may  return,  and  make  your  ar 
rangements  for  the  winter.  If  you  conclude  as  you  ought 
to  do,  I  wish  you  would  write  at  once  to  the  President 
as  he  is  very  anxious  to  have  the  matter  closed. 

Remember  me  very  kindly  to  Mrs.  B.  and  the  chil 
dren,  and  believe  me, 

Very  truly  yours, 

M.  VAN  BUREN. 

To  B.  F.  BUTLER,  Esq. 

P.  S. — The  President  has  read  this  letter  and  ap 
proves  it.  He  does  not  write  you  himself  because  I  have 
told  him  that  that  is  not  necessary  at  this  time. 

M.  V.  B. 

1  Probably  John  Van  Buren,  son  of  President  Van  Buren. — ED. 
•"  William  Learned  Marcy. — ED. 

43 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

The  appeal  thus  made  could  not  be  withstood,  and  a 
letter  was  written  to  President  Jackson,  accepting  the 
office  of  attorney-general,  on  the  duties  of  which  the  new 
incumbent  immediately  entered. 

The  hold  which  my  father  had  upon  the  community 
in  which  his  lot  had  been  cast,  is  shown  by  a  letter  written 
to  him  on  his  leaving  Albany.  It  is  dated  November  26, 
1833,  and  bears  eighty-nine  signatures,  the  names  includ 
ing  many  of  the  most  eminent  citizens  of  the  State,  familiar 
in  its  history  as  statesmen,  judges,  lawyers,  divines,  physi 
cians,  and  men  of  note  in  various  walks,  and  testifies  to 
their  estimate  of  his  worth,  their  personal  friendship,  and 
their  regret  at  losing  him  from  their  social  circles  and 
from  active  co-operation  in  the  interests  of  the  city. 

[  A  number  of  letters  still  extant  written  chiefly  by  my 
father's  parents  during  the  eighteen  months  previous  to 
their  removal  to  Washington  are  of  peculiar  interest 
from  both  a  public  and  personal  aspect. 

The  references  to  political  events  evidence  my  grand 
father's  keen  grasp  of  public  questions,  his  friendly  and 
professional  relations  with  Mr.  Van  Buren,  and  his  own 
keen  legal  acumen.  But  one  is  impressed  not  only  with 
the  strong  intellectuality  of  the  writer,  but  with  his  intense 
modesty,  even  humility,  evidently  the  result  of  a  deeply 
religious  nature.  The  tender  heart  which  suffers  at  the 
frequent  separations  from  his  beloved  wife  and  dear 
children — separations  necessitated  by  the  many  demands 
upon  his  professional  services  and  the  lack  of  travelling 
facilities — pours  itself  out  in  exquisite  expressions  of 
loving  devotion  and  holy  thought. 

Life  as  it  appears  from  these  letters  is  very  earnest, 
very  serious,  and  every  event  must  be  sanctified;  to  all  of 
which  his  wife  responds  with  an  added  sense  of  delightful 

44 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

humor,  which,  lacking  in  her  husband,  was  perhaps  one 
of  her  unceasing  charms  for  him  in  their  peculiarly  happy 
married  life.  It  is  quite  as  evident  from  whom  my  father 
derived  his  profoundly  spiritual  reflectiveness  as  it  is  from 
whom  he  inherited  his  keen  wit. — ED.] 


CHAPTER   IV 

JOURNEY  TO  WASHINGTON — ROBERTS  VAUX — STORY  OF  FRANKLIN'S  SAW 
DUST  PUDDING — THE  SUPREME  COURT — THE  ROOM — THE  JUDGES — 
WILLIAM  WIRT — ANECDOTES — CALL  ON  GENERAL  JACKSON — HIS  AP 
PEARANCE — WASHINGTON  IN  1834 — SOCIAL  LIFE — TONE  OF  SOCIETY — 
EFFECT  OF  SLAVERY — MEMBERS  OF  CONGRESS — THE  "SWALLOW- 
TAILED  GENTRY" — FOREIGN  MINISTRY — SCHOOL  LIFE  IN  WASHINGTON — 

SCHOOL  LIFE  IN   HUDSON — LAFAYETTE'S  WIG. 

OUR  journey  from  New  York  required  three  days  of 
travel.  From  New  York  to  Philadelphia  we  came 
by  the  Camden  and  Amboy  route,  partly  by  rail  and 
partly  by  water.  In  Philadelphia  we  stopped  at  Head's 
Hotel,  a  noted  public  house  of  the  time,  which  has  long 
since  disappeared,  and  where,  I  remember,  the  proprietor 
took  special  pains  for  our  comfort.  A  very  pleasant 
evening  spent  at  the  home  of  Roberts  Vaux,  one  of  the 
worthiest  of  Friends  and  a  foremost  citizen  of  Philadelphia, 
remains  with  me  as  a  delightful  memory  of  our  short  stay 
in  the  City  of  Brotherly  Love.1 

1  Amongst  my  grandfather's  papers  I  find  the  following  interesting  account, 
written  by  Roberts  Vaux  at  the  request  of  Martin  Van  Buren,  of  the  "saw-dust 
pudding  supper"  given  by  Benjamin  Franklin,  which  substantiates  a  story  but 
little  known. — ED. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND: 

In  compliance  with  thy  request  I  have  written  out  the  story  of  the  saw-dust 
pudding  supper  given  by  Dr.  Franklin  to  some  of  his  friends  about  a  century  ago. 
Believe  me  always  thy  faithful  and  affectionate  friend,  ROBERTS  VAUX. 

Saratoga  Springs,  8mo.  15,  1835. 

To  M.  VAN  BUREN,  VICE  PRESIDENT,  U.  S. 

Soon  after  Franklin  made  his  first  visit  to  Philadelphia  in  1723,  he  became 
acquainted  with  my  grandfather.  The  foundation  of  a  mutual  confidence  and 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

Another  day's  travel  brought  us  to  Baltimore,  where 
Mr.  Barnum,  the  proprietor  of  the  hotel  which  made  his 
name  famous,  also  did  his  best  in  entertaining  our  party. 
That  was  a  memorable  evening  when  the  stage-coach 
containing  my  father  and  mother  and  the  five  children 
pulled  up  with  customary  clatter  and  clang  in  front  of 
Fuller's  Hotel  in  Washington,  then  standing  at  the  corner 
•of  Pennsylvania  Avenue  and  Fourteenth  Street,  the  site 
for  many  years  occupied  by  Willard's  old  hotel  and  which 
has  now  been  replaced  by  the  "New  Willard."  The 
journey  from  Baltimore,  now  accomplished  in  less  than 

friendship  was  then  laid,  which  endured  through  almost  two-thirds  of  a  century 
when  death  dissolved  this  long,  and  sincere  attachment.  They  were  born  in  the 
same  year  1706,  and  so  were  several  other  members  of  the  Junto  which  they 
formed  in  1727  for  the  improvement  of  its  associates  in  moral  philosophy  and 
political  science.  At  that  time  there  was  but  one  newspaper  in  the  Province, 
and  Franklin's  sagacious  mind  saw  the  need  of  another  journal,  to  rectify  pub 
lic  opinion,  and  disseminate  principles,  which  he  deemed  essential  to  the  general 
welfare.  It  was  not  however  until  1736,  that  he  succeeded  in  establishing  his 
afterward  far  famed  Pennsylvania  Gazette,  which  distributed  so  much  political 
and  economical  wisdom,  to  the  People. — A  printer  himself  by  profession,  but 
without  funds,  he  was  under  the  necessity  of  borrowing  from  two,  or  three  of  his 
friends,  money  to  enable  him  to  commence  his  labours. — He  now  rented  a  room 
in  an  obscure  alley,  where  he  opened  his  office  and  unassisted,  composed,  struck 
off,  and  distributed  his  paper. — The  acute  and  youthful  champion  of  human 
rights,  soon  began  to  notice  with  great  freedom  and  force,  some  of  the  men  and 
measures  of  the  day,  which  no  one  before  had  the  moral  courage  to  arraign. 
This  exhibition,  produced  a  concussion  in  the  primitive  community,  not  less 
startling,  than  the  shocks  which  were  afterward  imparted  by  his  original  experi 
ments  with  the  electric  fluid. — My  Grandfather,  and  Philip  Sing,  and  Luke  Mor 
ris  and  some  other  members  of  the  Junto,  who  felt  a  deep  interest  in  Franklin's  suc 
cess,  hearing  many  complaints  of  the  tone  of  his  paragraphs,  met  one  day  to 
consider  the  propriety  of  advising  him  to  be  more  moderate  in  that  respect. — 
The  consultation  resulted  in  the  appointment  of  two  of  them  to  administer  a 
caution. — They  found  the  editor  with  his  sleeves  rolled  up,  busy  at  his  press,  and 
on  mentioning  the  purpose  of  their  visit,  he  excused  himself  from  want  of  time 
then,  to  hear  them,  but  named  an  early  evening  when  they  and  their  constituents 
should  take  supper  with  him,  and  talk  over  the  matter  at  leisure.  On  the  ap 
pointed  night  they  assembled  at  his  house,  and  some  time  was  spent  in  communi- 

47 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

an  hour,  had  consumed  the  entire  day.  At  Washington 
the  arrival  of  a  member  of  the  cabinet  was  an  event 
stimulating  Mr.  Fuller  and  his  whole  staff  to  give  us  a 
warm  welcome  and  make  us  at  home  in  what  to  us  were 
very  novel  surroundings.  Two  or  three  houses,  originally 
built  for  private  residences,  fronting  on  Pennsylvania 
Avenue,  had  been  annexed  to  the  main  hotel,  and  in  one 
of  these  we  lived  during  our  first  winter  in  Washington. 

It  seemed  a  long  walk  from  Fuller's  to  the  Capitol, 
whither  my  father  took  me  with  him  very  soon  after  we 
had  become  settled  in  our  quarters.  He  led  me  into  the 

eating  their  opinions  and  views. — At  length  Franklin's  wife  made  her  appearance 
— she  set  out  a  table — covered  it  with  a  coarse  tow  cloth — placed  a  trencher  and 
spoon  and  a  penny  porringer  for  each  guest,  and  having  deposited  on  one  end 
of  the  simple  board  a  large  pudding,  and  on  the  other  a  stone  pitcher,  she  re 
tired. — The  Philosopher  now  begged  his  friends  to  be  seated. — To  each  he 
served  a  slice,  and  gave  some  water,  and  bid  them  enjoy  themselves. — He  sup 
plied  himself  largely,  and  eat  heartily;  occasionally  saying,  "Come  gentlemen 
help  yourselves,  we  have  another  pudding  in  the  pot."  But  in  vain  they  endeavored 
to  dispose  of  their  fare. — Finally  they  looked  at  one  another,  and  toward  their 
host,  and  were  about  to  withdraw  from  the  table;  at  this  moment  Franklin  rose 
and  said.  "I  am  happy  to  have  your  company  and  to  listen  to  your  suggestions 
— some  of  you  have  been  my  benefactors  especially — your  advice  is  well  meant  I 
know,  but  I  cannot  think  with  you  in  some  respects.  You  see  upon  what  humble 
jood  I  can  live,  and  he  who  can  subsist  upon  Saw  Dust  Pudding 1  and  Water,  as  can 
Benjamin  Franklin,  Printer,  needs  not  the  Patronage  of  any  one."  Hereupon 
they  parted,  cordially  shaking  hands;  the  advisers  resolving  as  they  walked  home, 

never  more  to  interfere  with  the  intrepid  editor. —  ,-,  ,r 

ROBERTS  VAUX. 

Saratoga  Springs,  8mo.  15,  1835. 

The  substance  of  the  foregoing  anecdote,  was  related  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Contributors  of  the  Penna.  Institution  for  the  instruction  of  the  Blind,  just  be 
fore  that  body  went  into  an  election  for  its  officers,  when  the  narrator  was  left 
out  of  the  station  of  Vice  President,  solely  on  account  of  his  political  opinions, 
having  shared  a  similar  fate  in  almost  all  the  benevolent  and  literary  associations 
of  his  native  City  during  the  reign  of  terror  created  by  the  advocates  of  the  Bank 
of  the  U.  S.—  R.  V. 

1  See  "  The  Beginner's  American  History,"  by  Montgomery,  p.  86.  "  That  kind  of  mush  was  then 
eatfn  only  by  very  poor  people;  and  because  it  was  yellow  and  coarse,  it  was  nicknamed  'sawdust 
pudding.'  " — Ed. 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

Supreme  Court  Room,  which  was  then  in  the  basement 
of  the  north  wing  of  the  Capitol,  the  space  now  occupied 
by  the  Law  Library.  In  the  vestibule  of  this  basement 
are  certain  marble  pillars  of  grace  and  beauty,  not  now 
often  noticed  by  visitors  to  the  Capitol,  who  seldom  enter 
at  this  point.  Each  column l  consists  of  two  rows  of  corn 
stalks,  one  surmounting  the  other,  the  full-grown  ears 
in  the  open  corn-leaves  forming  the  capitals.  This  is  an 
adaptation  of  the  classical  Corinthian  order,  which,  from 
an  artistic  point  of  view,  may  seem  barbaric,  but  the 
effect  of  which,  to  my  eye,  has  always  been  most  pleas 
ing,  and  to  my  mind  most  appropriate  in  associating  the 
highest  form  of  ancient  art  with  a  common  product  of 
our  western  continent.  These  columns  flank  the  plat 
form  from  which  rises  the  marble  circular  staircase  which, 
in  1833,  and  until  wings  were  added  to  the  Capitol,  led 
to  the  Senate  Chamber.  This  room  is  now  occupied  by 
the  Supreme  Court,  which  until  1860  was  most  inade 
quately  housed  in  the  basement,  underneath  the  Senate— 
an  arrangement  wholly  unjustifiable,  unless,  perhaps,  by 
the  idea  that  Justice  should  underlie  Legislation. 

On  my  first  visit  to  the  court  my  boyish  attention  was 
fastened  upon  the  seven  judges  as  they  entered  the  room 

—seven  being  the  number  then  composing  the  court.    It 
was  a  procession  of  old  men — for  so  they  seemed  to  me 

—who  halted  on  their  way  to  the  bench,  each  of  them 
taking  from  a  peg  hanging  on  the  side  of  the  wall  near  the 

1  These  columns  are  said  to  have  been  designed  by  Thomas  Jefferson,  with  a 
special  idea  of  Americanizing  Greek  art. — ED. 

49 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

entrance  a  black  robe  and  donning  it  in  full  view  of  the 
assembled  lawyers  and  other  spectators.  This  some 
what  extra-judicial  act  impressed  me  more  than  any  sub 
sequent  proceeding  of  the  court,  and  left  a  vivid  picture 
in  my  memory.  Long  afterward,  when  I  went  to  Wash 
ington  to  argue  cases  before  the  highest  tribunal,  con 
trasting  the  dignified  formalities  which  attended  the 
opening  of  the  court  at  every  session  with  the  robing 
method  which  I  have  described,  I  began  to  think  I  must 
have  been  mistaken,  and  that  I  could  not  have  seen  Chief- 
Justice  Marshall,  Judge  Story,  and  their  associates1  do 
ing  so  informal  a  thing  as  putting  on  their  robes  after 
entering  the  court-room.  One  day  after  the  adjourn 
ment  of  the  court,  Chief- Justice  Taney  stopped,  as  was 
oftentimes  his  habit,  to  exchange  a  word  with  me,  and  I 
seized  the  opportunity  to  ask  him  whether  my  recollec 
tion  in  this  matter  of  the  robing  of  the  justices  was  correct 
or  at  fault.  He  said  at  once  that  I  was  quite  right  in  my 
remembrance,  and  that  until  the  court  was  moved  upstairs, 
the  judges  always  put  on  their  robes  in  the  court- room. 

In  the  first  part  of  his  residence  in  Washington,  my 
father  was  often  accompanied  in  his  walks  to  the  court  by 
William  Wirt,one  of  the  most  conspicuous  men  of  the  time, 
who  was  living  temporarily  in  Washington,  in  lodgings  only 
a  few  doors  from  our  hotel.  I  sometimes  walked  with 
them  and  listened  to  the  talk  by  the  way.  Mr.  Wirt  had 
been  a  predecessor  of  my  father  in  the  office  of  attorney- 

1  The  Supreme  Court  bench  at  that  time  consisted  of  Chief- Justice  John  Mar 
shall  and  Associate  Justices  William  Johnson,  Gabriel  Duvall,  Joseph  Story, 
Smith  Thompson,  John  McLean,  and  Henry  Baldwin. — ED. 

5° 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

general,  having  been  appointed  by  President  Monroe  in 
1817  to  succeed  Richard  Rush,  who  resigned  to  become 
minister  to  England.  Mr.  Wirt's  term  of  service  had  been 
longer  than  that  of  any  other  incumbent  of  the  office,  and 
lasted  until  1829,  when  he  retired  on  General  Jackson's 
accession  to  the  Presidency. 

A  warm  friendship  existed  between  my  father  and 
Mr.  Wirt.  Their  tastes  and  professional  views  were  sin 
gularly  alike.  They  were  both  Presbyterians,  while  they 
were  widely  apart  in  politics.  Mr.  Wirt  had  attained 
celebrity  as  an  author,  his  "British  Spy"  and  "Life  of 
Patrick  Henry"  being  American  classics;  while  that  part 
of  his  famous  speech  at  the  trial  of  Aaron  Burr,  with  its 
descriptive  episode  of  his  home  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio, 
beginning  "Who  is  Blennerhasset  ?"  rivaled,  in  the  suf 
frages  of  school-boys,  Mark  Antony's  eulogy  of  Caesar 
and  even  Halleck's  "Marco  Bozzaris."  He  was  brilliant 
and  able  as  a  lawyer,  but  somewhat  erratic  in  his  political 
views  and  associations.  In  1832  he  allowed  his  name- 
to  be  used  to  lead  a  forlorn  hope  by  accepting  a  nomi 
nation  for  the  Presidency  from  a  National  Convention  of 
the  so-called  "Anti-Masonic"  Party.  This  political  or 
ganization  originated  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  had 
sufficient  strength  to  enlist  supporters  in  many  States; 
but  so  few  were  they  in  each  locality  that  of  the  286  elec 
toral  votes  Mr.  Wirt  received  only  the  seven  which  were 
cast  by  the  State  of  Vermont. 

In  the  early  part  of  February,  1834,  Mr.  Wirt  was 
taken  ill,  and  it  was  made  my  duty  to  go  every  morning 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

to  enquire  as  to  his  condition  and  report  it  at  home.  He 
rapidly  grew  worse  and  when  I  called  on  the  i8th,  he 
was  near  his  end.  He  died  at  eleven  o'clock  that  morning. 

On  a  table  in  the  drawing-room  of  my  father's  house 
in  New  York  City,  after  we  had  removed  from  Washing 
ton,  there  stood  a  little  box  made  of  wood  taken  from  the 
famous  "Charter  Oak"  at  Hartford,  Conn.  It  enclosed, 
as  a  memento  of  William  Wirt,  a  carefully  folded  paper 
containing  a  lock  of  his  silver-white  hair,  a  kind  of  souve 
nir  more  in  vogue  sixty  years  ago  than  to-day.  At  an 
evening  reception,  standing  by  this  table  in  company  with  a 
young  lady  of  great  intelligence  and  education,  a  daughter 
of  one  of  the  most  eminent  clergymen  in  New  York,  I  called 
her  attention  to  the  box,  and  after  opening  it  I  said: 
"This  paper  contains  a  lock  of  hair  of  William  Wirt." 
She  gave  it  a  glance  and  then  said:  "And  who  was  Wil 
liam  Wirt  ? "  Being  a  very  young  man,  I  was  amazed  and 
almost  stupefied  at  such  an  exhibition  of  what  seemed  to 
me  inexcusable  ignorance;  but  the  incident,  casual  as  it 
was,  taught  me  a  lesson.  I  have  never  forgotten  the 
emptiness  of  professional  repute  and  even  of  literary  or 
political  fame.  Here  was  a  man  at  the  head  of  his  pro 
fession,  of  established  literary  reputation,  and  of  such 
political  prominence  as  to  have  been  a  presidential  candi 
date,  and  yet  an  intelligent  young  woman,  in  the  best 
society  of  the  metropolis  of  the  nation,  was  ignorant  of 
even  his  name. 

More  interesting  perhaps  than  my  view  of  the  Supreme 
Court  was  the  first  visit  I  paid,  in  company  with  my 

52 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

father,  to  General  Jackson  at  the  White  House.  He  re 
ceived  us  in  the  large  room  on  the  second  floor  of  the  Ex 
ecutive  Mansion  at  the  northwest  end,  which  was  his  cus 
tomary  abiding-place  while  president,  and  where  his 
wife's  Bible  on  the  square  table  by  which  he  was  accus 
tomed  to  sit  and  her  portrait  near  the  foot  of  his  bed, 
were  constantly  in  view.  His  name  had  been  a  house 
hold  word  to  me  from  my  earliest  years,  made  especially 
familiar  by  the  picturesque  sobriquet  of  "Old  Hickory." 
He  was  at  this  time  at  the  very  height  of  his  popularity, 
having  received  219  out  of  the  286  electoral  votes  cast  in 
the  presidential  election  of  1832,  the  popular  vote  having 
been  707,217  in  his  favor  as  against  583,281  for  all  his 
rivals  in  the  candidacy.1  Although  hardly  sixty-seven 
years  old  (having  been  born  March  15,  1767),  he  seemed 
to  me  a  very  old  man;  and  his  gaunt  and  somewhat  grim 
features  told  the  story  of  exposure,  frontier  perils  and  the 
strife  of  arms,  as  well  as  of  his  many  personal  and  politi 
cal  conflicts.  His  bristling  hair  rising  from  his  fore 
head,  his  long  face  seamed  with  wrinkles,  and  the  aspect 
of  command  and  dominating  will  which  were  his  promi 
nent  characteristics,  made  him  a  most  impressive  figure 
in  my  eyes.  His  manner  was  then,  as  it  always  was  in 
social  intercourse,  most  courteous  and  kind;  to  women 
and  children  he  never  was  otherwise.  The  true  Jackson, 
as  I  saw  him  then  and  afterward,  was  wholly  unlike  the 
Jackson  of  the  Whig  newspapers  and  caricaturists.  My 
early  recollections  of  him  are  less  vivid  than  those  of  ten 

'William  G.  Sumner,  "Andrew  Jackson"   (1899),  P- 321- 

53 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

years  later,  when  I  saw  him  more  intimately  during  a 
visit  to  the  "Hermitage,"  in  the  spring  of  1844,  which  I 
will  chronicle  in  due  course.  But  this  first  interview 
took  a  strong  hold  upon  my  memory  and  gratified  my 
youthful  longing  to  see,  face  to  face,  the  hero  of  New 
Orleans.  General  Jackson's  private  secretary  was  his 
nephew,  Major  Andrew  Donelson,  whose  wife  presided 
over  the  household  of  the  Executive  Mansion.  She  was 
a  beautiful  woman  and  deservedly  popular  in  Washing 
ton. 

At  that  time  Washington  was  a  typical  Southern  city. 
Slavery  existed  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  Alex 
andria,  a  few  miles  distant  from  Washington,  was  an 
established  slave-mart.  No  political  party  in  1834  dared 
to  raise  a  protest  against  the  existence  and  domination  of 
the  slave  power  in  the  District,  although  John  Quincy 
Adams,  who  had  taken  his  seat  in  Congress  in  December 
1831,  had  signalized  his  entrance  into  that  body,  where 
he  was  to  become  for  the  next  succeeding  fifteen  years 
the  champion  of  the  anti-slavery  cause,  by  presenting 
"fifteen  petitions  signed  numerously  by  citizens  of  Penn 
sylvania  praying  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  and  the  slave 
trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia."  Even  he*  however, 
staunch  advocate  of  liberty  as  he  was,  stated  while  moving 
the  reference  of  these  petitions  to  the  Committee  on  the 
District  of  Columbia,  that  he  should  not  support  that  part 
of  the  petition  which  prayed  for  the  abolition  in  the  District. 

Slavery  as  a  moral  evil,  especially  when  viewed  in 
the  clearer  light  which,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  dawned 

54 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

upon  our  national  horizon,  was  just  as  much  a  crime 
against  humanity  in  1834  as  it  was  at  the  date  of  the  Proc 
lamation  of  Emancipation  nearly  thirty  years  later. 
But  as  a  factor  in  the  social  life  of  the  national  capital,  it 
seemed  in  1834,  in  the  general  view,  not  only  harmless 
but  beneficial.  Leading  members  and  officers  of  the  ad 
ministration,  senators  and  representatives  in  Congress, 
came  from  the  Southern  States  bringing  their  household 
slaves  with  them,  while  those  from  the  North  were  forced 
to  hire  for  domestic  service  slaves  belonging  to  residents 
of  the  District  of  Columbia,  whose  wages  went  to  their 
masters.  The  South  felt  as  secure  in  respect  to  its  rights 
of  property  in  slaves  in  the  District  of  Columbia  as  in 
the  Southern  States.  The  North  acquiesced,  and  the  bi 
ographer  of  Mr.  Adams  says  in  reference  to  the  petitions 
which  he  presented,  that  "these  first  stones  were  dropped 
into  the  pool  without  stirring  a  ripple  on  the  surface," 
and  he  adds  that  "for  about  four  years  more  we  hear 
little  in  the  Diary  concerning  slavery." 

The  prevailing  tone  of  society  in  Washington  was 
thus  given  by  those  of  its  members  who  represented  the 
South  and  slavery.  They  brought  with  them  the  man 
ners  and  customs  of  the  Southern  capitals  and  Southern 
plantation  life.  The  open-handed  hospitality  of  the 
Southern  planter,  whose  servants  were  born  in  his  house 
and  swarmed  about  the  guests  who  visited  him  from  the 
North,  intent  on  all  the  ministrations  of  service,  secured 
for  him  an  ascendency.  Officers  of  the  government  and 
members  of  Congress  who  came  from  the  North  with 

55 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

their  wives  and  families,  could  not  enter  into  competition 
in  the  rivalries  of  social  life  with  men  and  women  hav 
ing  at  command  such  special  resources.  The  Northern 
woman  accustomed  to  doing  the  whole  or  a  very  large 
share  of  her  own  housekeeping,  and  hampered  by  the 
lack  of  adequate  domestic  service,  had  never  enjoyed 
sufficient  leisure  from  domestic  cares  to  engage  in  that 
special  cultivation  of  her  mind  which  would  fit  her  for 
insight  into  political  affairs  or  enable  her  to  use  her  social 
position  as  a  means  for  advancing  political  interests.  She 
was  thus  at  a  disadvantage  as  compared  with  her  South 
ern  sisters,  and  in  proportion  to  her  good  sense  was  more 
than  willing  to  yield  to  them  the  kind  of  precedence  which 
they  coveted  and  enjoyed.  Nevertheless,  I  think  the 
Northern  woman  somewhat  resented  the  praises  lavished 
upon  the  Southern  slave-holders  for  their  hospitality, 
claiming,  as  well  she  might,  that  an  equal  degree  of  that 
grace  would  be  exhibited  in  New  England  and  New  York 
if  their  households  could  be  furnished  with  an  indefinite 
number  of  domestics  working  without  wage  and  having  a 
marketable  value. 

A  prominent  reason  for  the  familiarity  with  public 
affairs  which  distinguished  Southern  women  at  Washing 
ton  was  the  fact  that  with  the  whole  slave-holding  popula 
tion  of  the  South  the  question  of  their  ancestral  institu 
tion  was  largely  one  of  property  and  of  their  continuing 
title  to  it.  Every  member  of  a  family  owning  slaves  by 
inheritance  or  other  modes  of  acquisition  early  came  to 
know  that  slavery  had  in  this  country  become  peculiar  to 

56 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

the  South,  as  it  had  gradually  disappeared  from  the 
North,  and  was  confined  to  the  States  lying  below  what 
was  called  "Mason  and  Dixon's  Line,"  and  that  while  it 
was  protected  by  supposed  constitutional  guarantees 
there  was  an  element  of  uncertainty  in  the  tenure  by  which 
it  was  held.  Hence  they  were  constantly  on  the  alert 
to  any  word  or  act  in  any  part  of  the  country  or  in  the 
private  circles  in  which  they  moved,  inimical  to  this  right 
of  property.  The  Southern  ear  was  quick  to  catch  and 
the  Southern  voice  to  resent  the  least  sound  which  carried 
with  it  disapproval  of  slavery  as  a  domestic  institution  in 
the  States  where  it  existed  by  law. 

Thus  it  came  about  that  while  in  the  North  the  ques 
tion  of  slavery  interested,  in  the  main,  philanthropists  and 
liberty-loving  agitators,  and  did  not  at  all  enter  into  the 
pursuits  of  life,  or  the  various  means  of  earning  money 
and  acquiring  property,  in  the  South  it  created  a  com 
munity  thoroughly  compact  and  cemented  together  by 
the  strong  bond  of  common  defense  for  the  protection  of 
property  rights  against  what  was  considered  lawless  in 
vasion.  When  slavery  brought  forth  secession  and  re 
bellion,  the  Southern  women,  old  and  young,  knew  as 
well  as  the  men  that  the  failure  of  their  cause  meant 
the  destruction  of  their  property,  which  was  to  them 
their  life. 

In  1834  Washington  seemed  like  a  scattering  village 
with  a  few  large  buildings  breaking  the  monotony.  The 
population,  even  when  swelled  during  the  sessions  of 
Congress  by  an  influx  of  senators  and  representatives, 

57 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

and  of  the  constituents  who  formed  the  lobbies  of  that 
day,  was  very  small  as  compared  with  that  of  the  present 
time.  There  were  few  railroads  to  aid  the  traveller  who 
set  out  from  any  part  of  the  country  to  reach  the  national 
capital.  Of  senators  there  were  only  forty-eight;  of  rep 
resentatives  two  hundred  and  forty,  while  the  perma 
nent  officers  in  the  several  departments  were  a  handful  as 
compared  with  those  who  to-day  fill  the  vast  buildings 
now  replacing  the  modest  brick  structures  which  in  1834 
stood  on  the  four  corners  of  the  grounds  adjoining  the 
White  House,  and  which  were  then  deemed  all-sufficient 
for  the  State,  Treasury,  War  and  Navy  Departments. 

The  Washington  of  to-day,1  with  its  smooth  asphalt 
streets,  its  grand  public  buildings,  its  parks  and  statues 
and  its  fine  private  residences,  gives  little  idea  of  the 
Washington  of  1834,  except  as  to  space,  being  still  what 
John  Randolph  called  it,  "a  city  of  magnificent  distances." 

I  have  found  in  a  recent  life  of  Hannibal  Hamlin2  such 
a  graphic  description  of  the  city,  and  of  Congressional 
life  and  manners  at  a  not  much  later  date  than  that  of 
my  first  acquaintance  with  it,  that  I  am  tempted  to  quote 
it  here: 

"  Washington  was  not  an  inspiring  spectacle.  ...  It 
was  a  small,  straggling,  overgrown,  and  ill-kept  city  of 
twenty  thousand  inhabitants.  The  streets  were  full  of 
grass  and  dirt.  Cows  were  even  pastured  in  some  of  the 
principal  streets.  The  houses  were  cheerless-looking. 
Pennsylvania  Avenue  was  paved  with  dust  or  mud,  ac 
cording  to  the  weather  that  prevailed.  On  a  windy 
'1899. 

2  Charles  E.  Hamlin,  "The  Life  and  Times  of  Hannibal  Hamlin"  (1899). 

58 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

day  immense  clouds  of  dust  swept  over  the  street,  some 
times  making  it  hard  for  pedestrians  to  see  their  way. 
On  a  rainy  day  the  avenue  was  a  bank  of  thick,  black 
mud.  One  of  the  few  picturesque  sights  was  the  old 
Capitol.  The  Washington  of  that  period  was  a  disgrace. 
Few  Congressmen  brought  their  families  to  live  with 
them,  and  it  was  the  custom  for  them  to  club  together, 
hire  a  house,  and  contract  with  the  landlord  or  a  caterer 
to  provide  the  table.  These  clubs  were  called  'messes/ 
and  they  were  more  important  and  exclusive  than  the 
name  would  seem  to  imply.  Many  famous  measures 
were  planned  at  'messes,'  and  their  champions  appointed. 
It  was  the  invariable  rule  that  no  member  of  a  'mess* 
should  invite  an  outsider  to  dinner  without  having  ob 
tained  the  permission  of  his  associates.  Strange  to  say 
refusal  rarely  gave  offence. 

"Congress  was  a  more  demonstrative  and  talkative 
body  than  the  one  which  now  assembles  at  Washing 
ton.  Many  members  wore  the  old-fashioned  swallow- 
tailed  coat,  and  others  the  buff  waistcoat.  Mr.  Hamlin 
adopted  the  former  garment  and  wore  it  all  the  rest  of 
his  life.  Although  there  was  not  that  brilliant  social  at 
mosphere  of  to-day,  yet  in  their  polite  intercourse  the 
members  of  Congress  were  very  ceremonious.  The 
speeches  were  ornate,  full  of  high-sounding  periods,  and, 
as  a  rule,  very  long.  It  was  the  closing  period  of  a  pict 
uresque  era — one  full  of  extravagant  talk  and  demon 
stration  that  preluded  an  approach  of  a  time  of  violent 
action.  There  were  still  orators  in  Congress  who  regu 
larly  announced  in  their  speeches  their  willingness  to  shed 
their  blood  on  their  country's  altar,  simply  to  gratify  a 
weak  fondness  for  playing  on  their  own  emotions,  rer- 
sonal  habits  were  not  as  good  as  now.  There  was  much 
drinking  and  card-playing.  Public  altercations  were  not 
infrequent.  Personal  allusions  in  debate  were  frequent. 
Duelling  was  still  practised.  Party  feeling,  too,  was  in 
tense,  and  party  discipline  was  rigid.  There  could  not 
be  much  intercourse  between  the  people  of  the  various 
parts  of  the  country,  on  account  of  the  scant  and  ex- 

59 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

pensive  facilities  of  travel.  Hence,  provincialism  and 
partisanship  of  a  narrow  kind  were  to  a  considerable  ex 
tent  the  outcome  of  the  order  of  things." 

The  swallow-tailed  gentry,  referred  to  in  the  above 
abstract,  were  very  familiar  figures  in  that  part  of  my 
boyhood  which  was  spent  in  Washington.  They  were 
conspicuous  in  the  Capitol,  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  and 
in  all  circles  of  society.  The  lines  of  official  and  social 
etiquette  were  quite  strictly  drawn.  The  circle  of  soci 
ety,  enclosed  in  a  narrower  sphere,  was  not  liable  to  un 
authorized  intrusions.  The  afternoon  tea,  which  now 
serves  as  a  kind  of  smokeless  powder  in  official  houses  to 
disperse  a  large  army  of  visitors  without  leaving  any 
resultant  unpleasant  vapors,  had  not  then  been  invented. 
Evening  receptions,  sometimes  entirely  conversational, 
sometimes  expanded  into  dancing  parties,  were  custom 
ary  forms  of  entertainment  outside  of  the  conventional 
levees  at  the  White  House.  At  the  evening  receptions 
refreshments  on  a  moderate  scale  were  given,  and  I  well 
remember  a  confectioner  in  Pennsylvania  Avenue  named 
"Kinchy"  who  enjoyed  a  monopoly  in  furnishing  ices 
and  other  products  of  his  skill  in  Washington,  almost 
equalling  that  which  was  enjoyed  in  New  York  by  "  Con- 
toit,"  whose  ice-cream  was  the  standard  of  perfection 
until  superseded  by  what  we  were  accustomed  to  call 
"  Philadelphia  ice-cream." 

The  leading  foreign  ministers  accredited  to  our  gov 
ernment  during  General  Jackson's  administration  were 
great  favorites  in  the  social  life  of  the  capital.  Mr. 

60 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

Fox,  the  British  Minister,  a  relative  of  Charles  James 
Fox,  the  famous  parliamentary  leader  and  orator,  was 
a  man  of  ability,  but  also  of  some  eccentricities.  His 
preference  for  waiting  before  going  in  to  dinner  until 
the  dishes  were  well  cooled  off,  furnished  a  topic  of 
gossip  in  Washington.  Baron  Von  Roenne,  who  repre 
sented  the  kingdom  of  Prussia,  was  one  of  the  most  ac 
complished  of  jurists  and  publicists.  A  devoted  friend 
ship  sprang  up  between  him  and  my  father.  He  was 
very  highly  esteemed  in  his  own  country,  both  in  public 
and  private  life.  I  enjoyed  his  hospitality  in  Berlin  in 
1847.  These  foreign  ministers  were  able  to  make  a  con 
siderable  display  in  the  way  of  equipages  and  appoint 
ments,  household  and  otherwise,  the  Russian  Minister 
especially  being  credited  with  great  possessions  and  vast 
wealth. 

Our  winters  in  Washington,  up  to  and  including  1837, 
were  spent  in  various  places  of  abode  in  different  parts 
of  the  city.  At  one  time  we  lived  on  the  east  side  of 
President's  (now  Lafayette)  Square,  in  a  large  brick  house 
which  was  then  managed  as  a  boarding-house  by  a  Mrs. 
Latimer.  It  was  afterward  occupied  by  Secretary  Sew- 
ard,  and  in  it  he  narrowly  escaped  death  at  the  hand 
of  an  assassin  in  April,  1865,  on  the  night  of  the  shooting 
of  President  Lincoln.1  Later  my  father  hired  a  house 
in  the  western  part  of  the  city  toward  the  Potomac,  a 
very  pleasant  residence. 

1  The  house  has  long  since  been  torn  down  and  the  Lafayette  Opera  House, 
now  the  Belasco  Theater,  was  erected  on  its  site. — ED. 

6l 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

My  schooling  was  at  Georgetown,  first  in  a  school 
kept  by  a  master  named  Hill,  and  afterward  in  another 
of  which  James  McVean  was  the  head. 

Mr.  McVean  was  a  most  accomplished  teacher  of 
Latin  and  Greek,  and  inspired  me  with  a  taste  for  the 
latter  language,  for  which  I  have  always  been  grateful  to 
him.  Although  my  regular  readings  in  the  Odyssey  con 
tinued  for  some  time  after  I  graduated  from  college,  they 
were  at  last  superseded  by  other  and  more  pressing  occu 
pations.  I  thus  inevitably  fell  out  of  the  rank  of  men 
who  could  read  Greek  after  leaving  college,  and  whom  I 
once  heard  Emerson  say  in  a  lecture  he  could  count  on 
his  fingers. 

Between  these  two  scholastic  experiences  and  during 
a  part  of  my  father's  term  of  office  I  was  at  school  in 
Hudson,  N.  Y.,  under  the  Rev.  Cyrus  Huntington,  hav 
ing  the  advantage  of  being  near  my  mother's  elder  sis 
ter,  Lydia,  to  whom  I  was  much  attached.  She  had 
married  Nathan  Chamberlin,  of  Hudson,  and  lived  near 
the  school  at  which  I  boarded.  In  the  latter  part  of 
his  life,  Mr.  Chamberlin  became  blind,  but  not  until 
after  he  had  built  in  Allen  Street  a  well-planned  and 
well-constructed  house,  through  every  part  of  which 
he  was  able  to  find  his  way,  notwithstanding  his  want 
of  sight. 

The  only  other  sister  of  my  mother,  Mary  Allen,  born 
in  1800,  married  Robert  J.  Macy,  a  ship-master  and  the 
popular  captain  of  one  of  the  old  line  of  Black  Ball  pack 
ets  sailing  between  New  York  and  Liverpool.  He  and 

62 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

his  wife  were  one  of  the  handsomest  couples  to  be  met 
with  anywhere,  and,  having  spent  some  time  in  France, 
were  proficient  in  their  knowledge  of  the  French  language 
and  manners.  The  story  is  told  of  my  aunt  Mary  that 
on  a  visit  which  she  paid  to  Lafayette,  who  was  always 
exceedingly  courteous  to  Americans,  she  said  to  him 
that  she  had  a  great  favor  to  ask.  He  indicated  that  he 
would  grant  it;  and  she  begged  him  for  a  lock  of  his 
hair.  "Madame,"  said  the  general,  "I  wear  a  wig." 
But  to  show  his  willingness  to  meet  her  wishes  he  pro 
posed  to  have  the  wig  so  far  removed  that  if  she  could 
find  any  remaining  natural  hairs  she  was  welcome  to 
appropriate  them  to  her  own  use.  Accordingly  a  few 
clippings  were  secured  which  she  took  home,  a  great 
treasure,  and  divided  with  my  mother,  the  quota  of  each 
sister  being  preserved  in  a  ring.  My  uncle  Robert's 
health  failed  and  he  died  September  22,  1836,  his  widow 
surviving  him  until  October  22,  1853.  Neither  of  my 
aunts  is  represented  by  any  descendants.  The  elder  of 
them  had  no  children,  and  the  two  sons  of  the  younger 
died  unmarried.  One  of  these  was  the  Rev.  William 
Allen  Macy,  who  went  as  a  missionary  to  China  and 
died  there. 


[To  his  educational  experience  at  Georgetown  my  father 
often  referred.  Under  his  first  master,  Silas  Hill,  he  studied 
for  four  months.  At  the  end  of  that  period  Mr.  Hill  wrote 
a  letter  interesting,  not  only  for  what  it  says  of  my  father's 
youthful  mental  promise,  but  for  the  comparatively  in 
significant  charges,  made  at  that  time,  for  education. 

63 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

DEAR  SIR:  WASHINGTON,  May  iQth,  '34. 

By  request,  I  have  prepared  Allen's  Bill  for  Tuition 
etc.,  and  as  I  have  been  unsuccessful  in  several  attempts 
at  an  interview  with  yourself  and  Mrs.  Butler,  I  take 
this  opportunity  to  make  a  remark  or  two  respecting  him. 
His  particular  studies,  and  standing  in  his  classes,  you 
have  seen  in  his  weekly  cards;  and  considering  his  age, 
that  standing  has  been  high,  very  high.  As  many  studies 
have  engaged  his  attention,  and  he  has  been  urged  for 
ward  in  them  as  fast  as  appeared  to  us  judicious.  He 
has  a  mind  of  great  vivacity  and  strength,  and  were  I  not 
addressing  a  Parent,  I  should  predict  much  respecting 
his  future  course.  Nor  is  this  said  through  excess  of 
partiality,  or  from  a  superficial  acquaintance  with  the 
characteristics  of  his  mind.  As  our  number  of  Pupils  is 
limited  and  two  permanent  Instructors  are  connected 
with  the  school,  we  make  it  our  duty  to  weigh  the  minds 
committed  to  our  charge,  for  the  purpose  of  affording  the 
best  discipline.  The  performance  of  such  a  duty  is  the 
work  of  time,  and  we  flatter  ourselves,  that  were  his  con 
tinuance  with  us  greater,  his  progress  would  be  even 
more  creditable.  Undoubtedly,  however,  he  will  be  ex 
ceedingly  well  situated  in  Albany  for  all  purposes  of  in 
tellectual  and  moral  culture.  I  will  only  add  that  his 
deportment  in  general  has  been  admirable.  Should  I 
again  fail  of  the  pleasure  of  an  interview,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Butler  will  accept  the  assurance  of  my  respectful  regards; 
and  Allen,  my  kindest  wishes  for  his  happiness  and  use 
fulness.  SILAS  H.  HILL. 

HON.  B.  F.  BUTLER  TO  SILAS  H.  HILL — Dr. 

To  Tuition  of  Son  from  Jan'y  8th  '34  to  March 

3oth — One  Quarter $12.50 

Stationery  &  Character  Cards i.oo 

Fuel     .     .     .     . 88 

2  Copy  Books .26 

Latin  Reader .50 

National  Reader -75 

$15.89 


A   RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

To  Tuition,  Stationery  &  Cards 

to  May  2ist, — 1\  weeks $8.45 

Fuel 34 

History  of  U.  States        .    .    .    .    r 75 

Copy  Book «.i3 

$25.56 
WASHINGTON  CITY,  May  ipth,  1834. 

Received  Payment 

SILAS  H.  HILL. 

Rev.  James  McVean,  to  whom  my  father  refers  as  in 
spiring  him  with  a  love  of  the  classics,  was  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  a  graduate  of  Princeton  College  and  at  one  time 
was  elected  to  the  chair  of  Greek  at  that  college,  but  de 
clined  the  offer.  Mr.  McVean  taught  school  at  George 
town  from  1822  to  1847,  at  which  time  the  town  of  about 
8,000  inhabitants  was  quite  an  educational  center.  The 
Georgetown  School,  the  Monastery,  the  Lancastrian 
School  and  the  McVean  School  drew  scholars  from  dif 
ferent  parts  of  the  country  especially  from  the  South.  My 
father's  attendance  at  the  Georgetown  School  necessitated 
exceptional  physical  as  well  as  mental  efforts  on  his  part. 
This  is  not  mentioned  by  him,  but  is  evident  from  a  letter 
written  from  Washington  by  one  of  his  sisters  during  the 
winter  of  1836,  in  which  she  says: 

"William  goes  to  Georgetown  to  school  every  day; 
it  is  a  long  walk,  but  every  one  concurs  in  saying  it  will 
be  of  great  benefit  to  him.  He  was  to  have  gone  as  a 
boarder,  but  Mrs.  McVean  thought  she  could  not  receive 
him,  saying  that  if  he  came  she  would  be  obliged  to  have 
an  additional  servant  on  his  account.  Will  was  quite 
amused  at  the  idea  of  their  requiring  another  servant  on 
his  account." 

From  the  school  in  Hudson,  which  my  father  attended 
for  a  few  months  in  the  winter  of  1834-35,  we  find 
him,  then  in  his  eleventh  year,  writing  encouragingly  to 
his  mother  thus:  "I  wish  you  would  give  yourself  no 
anxiety  on  my  account,  for  I  have  everything  that  I  wish 
and  I  am  perfectly  contented  here  and  at  present  I  see 

65 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

nothing  to  prevent  me  from  being  so  all  winter."  He  goes 
on  to  say  that  he  feels  "blocked  off  entirely"  from  his 
family,  as  the  river  is  frozen  over;  he  wonders  what  keeps 
his  father  so  long  at  Washington,  and  mentions  that  he  is 
in  the  seventh  book  of  Caesar. 

In  another  letter  we  find  the  hours  of  his  school  life 
so  scheduled  that  he  thinks  "they  have  a  good  deal  of 
time  in  the  evening  to  play"  —an  opinion  with  which  the 
present  generation  of  school-boys  would  hardly  agree. 
"We  get  up  at  six  o'clock,  come  directly  to  the  school 
room,  and  study  an  hour;  then  we  have  breakfast  and 
from  that  time  until  half  past  eight  o'clock  we  can  do 
what  we  please.  At  half  past  eight  we  come  into  school 
and  remain  there  until  twelve;  from  that  time  until  half 
past  one  we  do  what  we  have  a  mind  to;  then  we  go  to 
school  and  stay  till  half  past  five  and  then  we  are  at 
liberty  until  nine  o'clock."  In  winter  an  extra  hour  of 
sleep  is  allowed  in  the  morning,  for  then,  he  says,  in  a  let 
ter  written  the  previous  December,  "We  get  up  about 
seven  o'clock  and  have  fifteen  minutes  to  dress,  we  wash 
in  the  kitchen  and  have  breakfast  at  half  past  seven 
o'clock" — and  in  the  afternoon,  "we  come  out  at  four, 
we  have  tea  at  half  past  five  and  after  prayers  we  study 
our  lessons  for  the  next  day  in  the  school-room  an  hour 
after  which  we  go  to  bed  or  sit  up  and  read  just  as  we 
please." — ED.] 


66 


CHAPTER  V 

SLAVERY  CONDITIONS  AT  NATIONAL  CAPITAL — RESULTS  OF  COMPROMISES 
— HISTORICAL  REVIEW  OF  INTRODUCTION  OF  SLAVERY  INTO  THE 
UNITED  STATES — BIRTH  AND  GROWTH  OF  ABOLITION  SENTIMENT — 
THE  ORDINANCE  OF  1787 — COMPROMISES  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION — 
RECOGNITION  OF  SLAVERY  BY  THE  CONSTITUTION — FUGITIVE  SLAVES 
— ABOLITION  OF  SLAVE-TRADE — LOUISIANA  PURCHASE — MISSOURI 
COMPROMISE — LETTER  OF  JOHN  FORSYTE  TO  VAN  BUREN. 

RECURRING  to  the  incidents  of  our  residence  in 
Washington,  and  to  the  influence  of  slavery  which 
marked  its  social  and  political  conditions,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  although  there  were  as  yet  only  faint 
indications  of  the  storm  which  was  destined  to  break  upon 
the  country  in  later  years,  slavery  was  thoroughly  in 
trenched  at  Washington  and  in  the  national  councils.  In 
fact,  its  ascendency  was  the  direct  result  of  the  advan 
tages  secured  by  it  from  the  Compromises.  The  United 
States  was  never  responsible  for  the  introduction  of  sla 
very  into  the  territories  embraced  within  its  borders.  It 
had  existed  in  the  North  American  colonies  as  a  part  of 
the  British  colonial  system.  In  the  same  year  as  that  in 
which  the  Mayflower  brought  the  Pilgrims  to  Plymouth 
Rock,  namely,  in  August,  1619,  twenty  African  slaves 
were  landed  from  a  Dutch  ship  at  Jamestown,  Va.1 
From  that  time  until  the  Declaration  of  Independence 

'Fiske,  "Old  Virginia  and  Her  Neighbors,"  1897  (1900),  p.  179. 

67 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

and  the  outbreak  of  the  American  Revolution,  slavery, 
under  the  fostering  care  of  the  British  Government,  in 
creased  in  the  various  colonies,  until,  in  1776,  there  were 
in  the  country  about  500,000  persons  of  African  descent, 
of  whom  only  a  few  were  free.  Slavery,  with  its  accom 
panying  traffic  in  human  beings,  had  been  foisted  upon 
the  colonies  and  held  them  in  its  grasp,  although  efforts 
were  made  in  some  of  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States 
for  its  suppression.  Thus  slavery  was  abolished  in  Ver 
mont  as  early  as  1777,  and  in  Massachusetts  in  1780. 
Pennsylvania  in  1780  also  passed  an  "Act  of  Gradual 
Abolition"  by  which  the  importation  of  slaves  was  pro 
hibited  and  all  persons  born  or  brought  into  the  State  were 
made  free.  New  Hampshire  abolished  slavery  in  1784. 

An  Abolition  Society  was  formed  in  New  York  in  1785, 
of  which  John  Jay  was  president  and  Alexander  Hamilton 
secretary.  Similar  societies  were  formed  in  Rhode  Island 
and  Connecticut  in  1789  and  1790,  in  New  Jersey  in  1792, 
and  others  were  also  organized  in  Delaware,  Maryland, 
and  Virginia.  In  the  last-named  State,  however,  in  1785, 
Washington  wrote  to  Lafayette  that  "petitions  for  the 
abolition  of  slavery  .  .  .  could  scarcely  obtain  a  hearing."1 

After  the  treaty  of  peace,  by  which  the  independence 
of  the  United  States  was  acknowledged,  had  been  signed 
at  Paris,  November  30,  1782,  the  conflicting  claims  of  the 
different  colonies  to  the  vast  territory  acquired  by  their 
successful  revolution  against  British  rule  were  amicably 
adjusted.  At  the  Continental  Congress,  which  met  at 

1  Henry  Wilson,  "Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Slave  Power  in  America,"  pp.  20-26. 

68 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

Annapolis  on  March  I,  1784,  all  lands  northwest  of  the 
Ohio  River,  originally  claimed  by  Virginia,  were  ceded  to 
the  United  States.  On  July  13,  1787,  Congress  passed 
an  act  providing  that  in  the  territory  northwest  of  the 
Ohio  River  there  should  be  neither  slavery  nor  involun 
tary  servitude.  It  contained,  however,  a  stipulation  for 
the  return  to  their  owners  of  fugitive  slaves  coming  into 
the  territory.  This  famous  ordinance,  which  insured 
freedom  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Wis 
consin,  was  passed  with  only  one  vote  in  the  negative. 
The  Southern  colonies,  in  which  the  slave-trade  had  in 
creased  and  the  slaves  multiplied,  succeeded  in  protecting 
the  institution  of  slavery  not  only  within  their  original 
boundaries,  but  also  in  the  territory  embraced  in  the  new 
States  as  they  existed  when  the  Constitution  was  adopted. 
Repeated  efforts  were  made  to  procure  the  suspension 
and  avoid  the  effect  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787.  But  when 
the  convention  to  form  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  met  in  Philadelphia  in  May,  1787,  slavery  had  al 
ready  become  an  institution  so  interwoven  with  the  social 
conditions  of  the  Southern  States,  and  property  in  those 
States  had  become  so  dependent  upon  slave  labor,  that 
the  South  presented  a  united  front  against  any  efforts  on 
the  part  of  the  North  to  encroach  upon  its  asserted  rights. 
The  people  of  the  United  States  in  their  efforts  to  establish 
the  Union  under  a  Constitution  which  should  preserve  the 
rights  of  the  several  States  and  yet  establish  a  supreme 
government  exercising  such  powers  as  might  be  delegated 
to  it  by  the  several  States,  were  thus  confronted  by  a 

6q 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

problem  for  whose  conditions  they  were  not  responsible 
and  with  which  it  was  almost  impossible  to  deal. 

The  Union  could  not  be  formed  without  the  coopera 
tion  of  the  slave  States,  and  as  these  States  would  not  come 
into  the  Union  without  a  sufficient  guarantee  for  the  recog 
nition  and  protection  of  their  property  in  slaves,  there 
was  only  one  alternative — to  abandon  the  plan  of  union 
or  make  such  concessions  and  compromises  as  would 
satisfy  the  South.  Hence  came  what  are  called  in  our 
political  history  the  "Compromises  of  the  Constitution." 
They  were  directly  in  the  teeth  of  the  sweeping  asser 
tions  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  upholding  the 
doctrine  that  all  men  are  created  equal  and  are  entitled 
to  the  inalienable  rights  of  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit 
of  happiness;  and  on  purely  moral  considerations  the 
North  might  well  have  stood  then  on  the  ground  which  it 
was  forced  to  take  seventy-four  years  later. 

But  at  the  time  this  was  an  impossibility.  Even  the 
most  extreme  emancipationists  of  a  later  date  admit  that 
the  framers  of  the  Constitution  acted  wisely. 

The  word  "slavery"  does  not  occur  in  the  Constitu 
tion.  I  believe  its  exclusion  was  due  to  the  objections  of 
James  Madison.  The  existence  of  slavery,  however,  in 
the  slave-holding  States  and  the  rights  conceded  to  these 
States  in  reference  to  it  are  recognized  and  guaranteed: 

First,  by  the  provision  that  in  the  basis  of  representa 
tion  in  Congress  there  should  be  included,  in  addition  to 
the  whole  number  of  free  persons,  "three-fifths  of  all  other 
persons." 

70 


A   RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

Second,  by  the  provision  that  "no  person  held  to  ser 
vice  or  labor  in  one  State,  under  the  laws  thereof,  escaping 
into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law  or  regula 
tion  therein,  be  discharged  from  such  service  or  labor,  but 
shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such 
service  or  labor  may  be  due." 

Third,  by  the  provision  that  "the  migration  or  impor 
tation  of  such  persons  as  any  of  the  States  now  existing 
shall  think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  Con 
gress  prior  to  the  year  1808." 

This  meant,  in  plain  English,  that  the  slave-trade 
should  not  be  abolished  until  the  end  of  the  seventh  year 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  These  provisions  constituted 
the  earliest  compromises  on  the  question  of  slavery.  They 
were  not  adopted  without  much  debate  and  many  mis 
givings  on  the  part  of  Northern  members  of  the  con 
vention.  Gouverneur  Morris,  of  New  York,  a  deter 
mined  opponent  of  slavery,  well  stated  the  situation  when 
he  said,  "I  am  reduced  to  the  dilemma  of  doing  injustice 
to  the  Southern  States  or  to  human  nature.  I  must  do 
it  to  the  former:  I  can  never  agree  to  give  such  encour 
agement  to  the  slave-trade  as  would  be  given  by  allow 
ing  them  the  representation  for  their  negroes."  But  the 
convention  over  which  Washington  presided  and  which 
included  many  of  the  ablest  men  who  had  taken  part  in 
the  successful  struggle  for  independence,  not  only  adopted 
the  Constitution  with  its  concessions  to  the  slave  power, 
but  was  instrumental  in  procuring  its  ratification  by  the 
States. 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

Thus  the  newly  organized  nation  started  on  its  course 
as  one  of  the  powers  of  the  world  with  the  burden  of 
slavery  as  a  social  and  political  institution  imposed  upon 
it  by  the  government  from  which  it  had  wrested  its  inde 
pendence.  It  was  in  the  position  of  an  heir  upon  whom 
a  rich  inheritance  had  devolved,  encumbered  by  a  mort 
gage  debt  from  which  he  could  not  redeem  his  estates 
and  which  he  was  powerless  to  discharge.  The  ink  was 
scarcely  dry  on  the  parchment  whereon  the  Constitution 
had  been  engrossed  and  signed,  before  the  irrepressible 
conflict  of  slavery  began.  Outcry  was  raised  in  some 
quarters,  pending  the  ratification  of  the  Constitution  by 
the  States,  against  the  compromises  by  which  it  dealt 
with  the  question  of  slavery,  and  within  a  year  after  the 
organization  of  the  first  Congress  petitions  began  to  pour 
in  setting  forth  the  evils  of  slavery  and  praying  for  con 
gressional  action  for  their  abatement. 

The  Quakers  were  the  first  memorialists.  Their  peti 
tions  were  laid  on  the  table;  and  from  that  time  onward, 
while  the  right  of  petition  was  insisted  upon  in  both 
Houses,  no  action  was  ever  taken  by  Congress  looking  to 
any  interference  with  the  right  of  any  slave-holding  State 
to  hold  slaves  as  property  within  the  limits  of  its  territory. 
This  was  all  the  Constitution  secured  to  the  South,  except 
the  right  to  recapture  runaway  slaves  found  in  the  free 
States.  The  Constitution  was  silent  as  to  any  right  or 
claim  on  the  part  of  the  Southern  slave-holders  to  carry 
their  slaves  with  them  as  property  into  newly  acquired 
territory.  The  Ordinance  of  1787  was  an  exercise  of  the 

72 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

powers  of  the  Continental  Congress  to  prohibit  slavery 
north  of  the  Ohio  River,  and  there  could  be  no  question 
that  a  like  right  was  vested  in  Congress  by  the  Federal 
Constitution,  one  of  its  expressed  powers  being  to  admit 
new  States  into  the  Union  and  to  make  all  needful  rules 
and  regulations  respecting  the  territory  belonging  to  the 
United  States. 

In  the  South,  while  the  compromises  of  the  Consti 
tution  were  acceptable,  extreme  jealousy  existed  with  re 
gard  to  new  acquisitions  of  territory,  and  a  public  sen 
timent  there  grew  up  demanding  that  the  admission 
of  new  States  should  be  so  regulated  as  to  secure  the  acces 
sion  of  a  slave  State  for  every  free  State  that  might  gain 
entrance  to  the  Union.  This  was  so  far  acquiesced  in 
by  the  North  that  it  took  the  form  of  a  tacit  agreement  and 
was  acted  upon  for  many  years.  Thus  Vermont  in  1791 
and  Kentucky  in  1792,  Tennessee  in  1796  and  Ohio  in 
1802,  Louisiana  in  1812  and  Indiana  in  1816,  Mississippi 
in  1817  and  Illinois  in  1818  were  respectively  admitted, 
each  an  offset  to  the  other  so  far  as  the  question  of 
slavery  was  concerned. 

Southern  opinion  was  also  very  sensitive  on  the  subject 
of  fugitive  slaves.  As  early  as  1795  a  bill  was  introduced 
into  the  Senate,  which  passed  both  Houses  with  practical 
unanimity,  giving  effect  to  the  constitutional  provisions 
in  aid  of  the  recapture  of  runaways  from  their  Southern 
masters;  and  while  it  called  forth  much  indignation  in 
the  Northern  States  on  the  part  of  the  friends  of  emancipa 
tion,  it  remained  unaltered  for  nearly  sixty  years,  during 

73 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

which  time  repeated  efforts  were  made  by  the  South  to 
add  to  its  stringency.  These  were  unsuccessful,  how 
ever,  until  the  Act  of  1850,  the  "Fugitive  Slave  Law/' 
superseded  the  earlier  and  comparatively  ineffectual 
legislation  upon  this  subject. 

The  abolition  of  the  African  slave-trade,  which  the 
Constitution  precluded  till  the  year  1808,  was  not  accom 
plished  without  difficulty.  Both  North  and  South  were 
guilty  of  complicity  in  carrying  on  this  odious  traffic; 
and  the  greed  of  the  slave-traders  and  the  cruelties 
of  the  "Middle  Passage,"  as  the  voyage  from  Africa  to 
the  Western  Continent  was  called,  were  increased  by  the 
very  fact  that  the  time  was  short  in  which  the  trade 
could  be  carried  on.  The  debates  in  Congress  on  the 
bill  prohibiting  the  slave-trade  developed  the  violence 
peculiar  to  every  contest  involving  the  question  of  slavery. 
The  apprehensions  of  the  slave-holders  that  in  prohibit 
ing  the  foreign  slave-trade  Congress  might  go  further  and 
strike  a  blow  at  the  domestic  slave-trade  gave  vehemence 
and  force  to  the  presentation  of  the  pro-slavery  side  of  the 
issue.  Congress  passed  the  prohibitory  act  with  compara 
tive  unanimity,  notwithstanding  the  difference  of  opinion, 
which  related  more  to  form  than  substance,  as  far  as  the 
main  purposes  of  the  bill  were  concerned ;  and  the  various 
religious  bodies  and  other  friends  of  freedom  in  the  North 
had  a  day  of  rejoicing  when  the  foul  blot  of  the  African 
slave-trade  was  effaced  from  the  civilization  of  America. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  Thomas 
Jefferson,  then  President  of  the  United  States,  accom- 

74 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

plished  the  purchase  from  France  of  Louisiana,  a  terri 
tory  comprising  what  is  now  the  entire  States  of  Arkansas, 
Missouri,  Iowa,  Nebraska,  North  and  South  Dakota, 
parts  of  the  States  of  Minnesota,  Kansas,  Colorado,  Mon 
tana,  Wyoming,  Louisiana  and  Oklahoma,  all  of  the 
Indian  Territory.  Congress  divided  this  vast  domain 
into  two  Territories  by  the  thirty-third  parallel  of  latitude, 
giving  to  that  part  which  lay  south  the  name  of  "Orleans" 
and  to  that  which  lay  north  of  it  "Louisiana."  Later,  in 
1812,  when  Orleans  was  admitted  as  a  State,  it  was  called 
"Louisiana";  and  the  northern  part  of  the  purchase  re 
ceived  the  name  of  the  "Missouri  Territory." 

In  March,  1818,  Missouri  applied  to  Congress  for  ad 
mission  to  the  Union  as  a  State.  No  action  was  taken 
until  the  next  session,  when  the  petition  was  taken  up 
in  the  House  of  Representatives.  At  once  the  question 
whether  the  Territory  should  be  admitted  as  a  slave  State 
or  a  free  State  leaped  to  the  front.  An  amendment  to  the 
bill  providing  that  all  persons  born  after  the  admission 
of  the  State  should  be  free,  and  also  providing  for  the 
gradual  emancipation  of  persons  then  held  as  slaves,  was 
opposed  by  Henry  Clay,  then  Speaker  of  the  House. 
This  set  the  battle  in  array,  which  was  to  rage  year  in  and 
year  out  in  both  Houses  of  Congress  and  throughout  the 
whole  country,  in  the  deadly  conflict  between  freedom 
and  slavery. 

Mr.  Clay  and  those  who  sided  with  him  took  the 
ground  that  Congress  was  without  power  to  prescribe 
any  condition  to  the  admission  of  Missouri  as  a  State, 

75 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

or  to  prevent  slavery  from  existing  there  if  the  peo 
ple  so  determined.  Northern  members  struck  the  key 
note  of  the  movement  against  the  aggression  of  the  slave 
power  by  maintaining  that  Congress  had  full  power  to 
prohibit  the  introduction  of  slavery  as  a  condition  to  the 
admission  of  the  State.  In  the  debate  which  followed, 
the  extreme  Southern  representatives  began  their  threats 
of  a  dissolution  of  the  Union  in  case  the  North  insisted 
upon  excluding  slavery  from  new  territory.  Finally  a 
settlement  was  reached  by  which  Maine,  then  applying 
for  admission  to  the  Union,  unquestionably  a  free  State, 
was  admitted  simultaneously  with  Missouri.  The  same 
bill  contained  a  provision  that  in  all  the  territory  ceded  by 
France  to  the  United  States  north  of  36°  30'  north  latitude 
there  should  be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude. 
This  adjustment  passed  into  history  as  the  "Missouri 
Compromise,"  and  President  Monroe  signed  the  bill  in 
March,  1820.  Pending  the  long  debate  before  its  pas 
sage,  Arkansas  had  been  created  a  Territory  without  re 
striction  as  to  slavery,  and  Missouri  availed  of  the  privilege 
of  statehood  conferred  upon  her  by  adopting  a  constitu 
tion  not  only  forbidding  the  legislature  from  interfering 
with  slavery,  but  requiring  an  enactment  of  laws  prohibit 
ing  the  immigration  of  free  colored  persons  into  the  State. 
This  reopened  the  struggle  in  Congress,  but  slavery  tri 
umphed  and  Missouri  became  a  State  August  10,  1821. 

Henry  Clay  was  largely  instrumental  in  effecting  the 
Missouri  Compromise.  His  biographer,  Carl  Schurz, 
while  disavowing  the  claim  that  Clay  was  the  "father  of 


Ai  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

the  Missouri  Compromise,"  admits  that  the  final  result 
"was  mainly  due  to  Clay's  zeal,  perseverance,  skill  and 
the  moving  warmth  of  his  personal  appeals."  Mr.  Schurz 
continues:  "He  did  not  confine  himself  to  speeches  ad 
dressed  to  the  House,  but  he  went  from  man  to  man  ex 
postulating,  beseeching,  persuading,  in  his  most  winning 
way.  Even  his  opponents  in  debate  acknowledged,  in 
voluntarily  sometimes,  the  impressive  sincerity  of  his 
anxious  entreaties.  .  .  .  Adams  wrote  in  his  journal  that 
one  of  'the  greatest  results  of  this  conflict  of  three 
sessions'  was  'to  bring  into  full  display  the  talents,  re 
sources  and  influence  of  Mr.  Clay/  In  newspapers  and 
speeches  he  was  praised  as  'the  great  pacificator/  "  * 

Thus  the  compromises  of  the  Convention  of  1787 
which  secured  the  rights  of  the  slave-holders  in  the  South 
ern  States  were  followed  by  the  compromises  of  1820 
which  secured  to  them  the  right  of  extending  slavery  to 
the  new  Territory  of  Arkansas  and  the  new  State  of  Mis 
souri.  But  the  outcome  of  the  struggle  was  favorable  to 
freedom.  It  established  by  a  true  interpretation  of  the 
Constitution  that  Congress  had  power  to  prohibit  slavery 
in  the  Territories.  President  Monroe,  before  signing  the 
bill  which  embodied  the  compromise,  submitted  to  his 
Cabinet  the  question  whether  Congress  had  a  consti 
tutional  right  to  prohibit  slavery  in  a  Territory.  The 
unanimous  answer  of  his  Cabinet,  which  included  John 
Quincy  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  William  H.  Crawford, 
of  Georgia,  John  C.  Calhoun,  of  South  Carolina,  Smith 

1  Carl  Schurz,  "Henry  Clay,"  vol.  I,  p.  193. 

77 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

Thompson  of  New  York  and  William  Wirt,  of  Mary 
land,  was  in  the  affirmative. 

The  country  rested  securely  on  this  second  series  of 
compromises,  and  all  was  tranquil  in  Washington  and  in 
Congress,  so  far  as  slavery  was  concerned,  during  the 
presidency  of  General  Jackson,  save  as  occasional  out 
bursts  of  indignation  came  from  Southern  Senators  and 
Representatives  when  anti-slavery  petitions  disturbed  their 
tranquillity.  At  the  same  time  there  was  a  steady  growth 
of  anti-slavery  sentiment  at  the  North,  and  indignation 
was  provoked  at  the  South  by  an  increasing  volume  of 
anti-slavery  publications  circulated  at  the  North,  and 
which,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  occasionally  found  their 
way  in  the  slave-holding  communities. 

A  good  illustration  of  the  effect  produced  by  these 
Northern  efforts  appears  in  a  letter,  which  I  found 
among  my  father's  papers,  written  by  John  Forsyth,  then 
a  Senator  from  Georgia  and  a  leading  Southern  Demo 
crat,  to  Mr.  Van  Buren,  then  Vice-President,  under  date 
of  August  5,  1835.  This  letter  was  doubtless  sent  to  my 
father  by  Mr.  Van  Buren  in  order  that  he  might  do  what 
he  could  to  prevent  the  mischief  of  which  Mr.  Forsyth 
complained.  It  runs  as  follows: 

MY  DEAR  SIR: 

Your  "Emancipators"  and  "Human-rights  men,"  of 
New  York  are  at  work  raising  the  devil  through  the 
whole  Southern  Country.  You  will  see  the  Post-office 
in  Charleston  Harbor  broken  open  and  bonfires  made  of 
papers  sent  through  the  office.  All  parties  unite  to  write 
to  Postmaster  Hagar,  in  fixed  resolve  to  prevent  the  cir- 

78 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

culation  of  those  papers,  the  laws  of  the  United  States  to 
the  contrary  notwithstanding.  The  effect  of  this  state 
of  excitement  can  be  easily  foretold;  and  unless  the 
most  decided  steps  are  taken  in  New  York,  the  present 
seat  of  the  conspirators,  to  break  them  up,  I  should  not 
be  at  all  surprised  at  a  decisive  renewed  movement  to 
establish  the  Southern  Confederacy. 

Kendall  has  gone  very  far  in  his  answer  to  Hagar, 
which  vet  will  be  put  to  other  postmasters,  and  I  have 
advised  Hagar,  confidentially,  to  send  back  everything  of 
that  sort  received  at  his  office  to  the  fountain-head  from 
which  it  issued.  This  course,  if  followed  everywhere,  will 
prevent  the  extensive  circulation  of  the  monies  sent  from 
New  York  but  will  not  prevent  the  effect  of  the  tolerance 
of  the  New  York  authorities  and  people  of  New  York  of 
the  wretches  who  are  scattering  fire-brands  from  within 
her  limits.  Instead  of  mobbing  the  poor  blacks,  a  little 
more  mob  discipline  of  the  white  incendiaries  would  be 
wholesome  at  home  and  abroad.  I  would  have  written 
the  Governor  to  advise  some  ways  and  means  to  save  the 
reputation  and  influence  of  the  great  city  but  I  suppose 
he  is  philandering  at  some  of  the  watering-places,  and  all 
I  can  do  is  to  throw  out  this  little  paper  kite  to  find  out 
how  the  wind  may  be  made  to  blow.  A  portion  of  the 
magician's  skill  is  required  in  this  matter  be  assured  and 
the  sooner  you  set  the  imps  to  work  the  better. 

Truly  yours,        JOHN  FoRsyTH 

Mr.  Forsyth,  who  was  afterward  Secretary  of  State  in 
Mr.  Van  Buren's  Cabinet,  was  an  easy-going,  amia 
ble  man,  a  leader  in  his  party,  conservative  and  opposed 
to  all  extremes.  He  looked  upon  slavery  as  an  institution 
protected  by  the  Constitution  and  essential  to  the  rights  of 
the  South  and  the  security  of  the  Union,  but  his  letter  ex 
hibits  the  spirit  of  antagonism  between  freedom  and  slavery 
which  was  destined  to  outrun  all  his  prognostications. 

79 


CHAPTER  VI 

WILLIAM  LLOYD  GARRISON  —  INCIDENT  OF  JOHN  SMOTHERS  —  STORY  OF  THE 
COLORED  DOOR-KEEPER  —  BUNKER'S  MANSION  HOUSE  IN  NEW  YORK  — 
AARON  BURR  —  NEW  YORK  IN  1834  —  LETTER,  1838  —  MARTIN  VAN 
BUREN  —  HIS  CAREER  —  INAUGURATION  AS  PRESIDENT  —  BENJAMIN  F. 
BUTLER'S  RESIGNATION  OF  ATTORNEY-GENERALSHIP  —  LETTER  OF 
FELLX  GRUNDY. 


most  noted  agitator  in  the  cause  of  emancipa- 
tion  had  made  his  appearance  in  Massachusetts  in 
the  person  of  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  whose  name  will 
be  perpetually  linked  with  the  progress  of  the  anti-slavery 
sentiment  of  the  North.  In  January,  1831,  he  began  the 
publication  of  an  abolitionist  paper  called  The  Liberator. 
He  represented  all  that  was  most  extreme  and  violent  in 
hostility  to  slavery  on  the  ground  of  humanity  and  re 
ligion,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  single  purpose  of  its 
overthrow  by  every  means.  He  anticipated  John  Brown 
by  thirty  years  and  threw  himself  into  the  struggle  with  a 
fanaticism  equal  to  that  of  the  martyr  of  Harper's  Ferry. 
The  Liberator  stirred  the  South  into  a  fury.  In 
Georgetown,  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  it  was  made  a 
penal  offence  for  any  person  of  color  to  take  a  copy  from 
the  post-office.  The  penalty  was  a  fine  of  twenty  dollars 
or  thirty  days'  imprisonment,  with  the  alternative  that  if 
the  offender  was  unable  to  pay  the  fine  or  the  fees  for  im- 

80 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

prisonment  he  should  be  sold  into  slavery  for  four  months. 
In  North  Carolina,  Garrison  was  indicted  and  in  Georgia 
a  reward  of  five  thousand  dollars  was  offered  for  his  trial 
and  conviction.  All  this  now  seems  more  ludicrous  than 
serious,  but  gives  a  striking  illustration  of  the  impotent 
rage  which  then  filled  the  minds  of  the  Southern  slave 
holders  against  the  Northern  disturbers  of  their  peace. 
Meanwhile,  in  spite  of  internal  dissensions,  recrimina 
tions  and  the  violent  oppositions  of  conservative  and 
peaceably  inclined  people,  the  anti-slavery  agitators  at 
the  North,  by  meetings,  societies,  conventions,  publications 
and  indefatigable  agencies  succeeded,  within  a  compara 
tively  few  years  after  the  first  publication  of  The  Liberator, 
in  maintaining  nearly  two  thousand  organizations  having 
altogether  nearly  two  hundred  thousand  members. 

Outside  of  the  Abolitionists,  some  of  whom  appeared 
to  take  more  interest  in  the  colored  people  of  the  South 
than  in  their  white  brethren  of  the  North,  the  color  line 
was  more  strongly  drawn  at  the  North,  in  practical  social 
contact,  than  at  the  South,  where  the  slaves  mingled 
freely  with  their  masters  and  mistresses.  I  remember  my 
great  surprise  when  our  faithful  family  servant,1  John 
Smothers,  by  name,  who  always  came  North  with  us  and 
never  dreamed  of  availing  of  the  privileges  of  what  was 
called  "The  Underground  Railroad"  to  Canada,  went 
with  me  one  night  to  Peel's  Museum  to  see  the  perform 
ance  of  Monsieur  Adrien,  a  famous  prestidigitator,  as  he 

1  Doubtless  employed  by  Benjamin  F.  Butler  on  the  basis  referred  to  on  p. 
55  ante. — ED. 

81 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

would  now  be  called.  Arriving  at  the  door  of  the  hall,  I 
was  greatly  shocked  at  finding  that  John  would  not  be 
permitted  to  go  in  with  me  and  was  bitterly  disappointed 
at  the  prospect  of  losing  the  enjoyment  to  which  I  had 
looked  forward  with  great  delight.  The  door-keeper  was 
inexorable.  The  only  place  for  my  companion  was  up 
in  the  top  gallery.  Fortunately  a  gentleman,  perceiving 
my  predicament,  volunteered  to  take  me  in  with  his  party. 
To  this  John  assented,  and  he  rejoined  me  at  the  close 
of  the  performance. 

While  this  incident  greatly  impressed  me,  a  far  more 
tragic  occurrence  had  a  much  deeper  effect  in  exciting  in 
me  an  abhorrence  of  slavery  as  it  showed  itself  close  at 
hand  in  our  Washington  home.  A  colored  man  who  had 
acquired  his  freedom  was  employed  in  one  of  the  depart 
ments  as  a  door-keeper  and  messenger.  He  belonged  to 
that  class  in  Washington  which  has  always  furnished 
competent  attendants  for  the  halls  and  corridors  of  the 
government  buildings.  He  was  trusted  and  respected  by 
his  superiors  and  had  an  excellent  character  for  fidelity  and 
intelligence.  His  wife  was  a  slave  girl  whose  master  lived 
in  Georgetown,  District  of  Columbia,  and  the  two  chil 
dren  of  the  marriage,  according  to  the  immemorial  law  of 
slavery,  partook  of  the  condition  of  the  mother,  and,  as 
her  offspring,  were  the  property  of  her  master.  The 
father  had  a  small  house  and  plot  of  land  in  Georgetown, 
and  the  little  family  were  apparently  in  a  very  happy 
situation.  Returning  to  his  home  one  afternoon  he  found 
the  fire  burning  on  the  hearth  and  the  kettle  hanging  over 

82 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

it,  as  usual,  in  preparation  of  the  evening  meal;  but  the 
place  was  empty.  Neither  wife  nor  children  could  be 
found.  In  a  few  minutes  he  learned  the  reason.  His 
neighbors  told  him  that,  in  his  absence,  they  had  been 
sold  by  their  master  to  a  Southern  trader,  who  had  taken 
them  all  to  the  slave  pen  at  Alexandria.  Frantic  with 
grief  and  rage,  he  rushed  back  to  Washington,  told  the 
pitiable  tale  to  my  father,  who  interested  himself  at  once, 
and  securing  the  aid  of  some  other  friends  of  the  unfor 
tunate  man,  furnished  him  with  the  money  necessary  to 
buy  back  his  wife  and  children,  and  dispatched  him  late 
at  night  to  Alexandria  for  their  rescue.  Filled  with  grati 
tude  and  hope  he  reached  the  slave  pen,  and  there,  to 
his  horror,  found  his  wife  a  raving  maniac  by  the  bodies 
of  the  two  children,  whom  she  had  killed  in  her  frenzy. 
She  never  knew  how  she  became  an  infanticide.  Years 
afterward,  when  in  freedom  and  in  her  right  mind,  she 
came  to  our  home  in  New  York  to  see  my  mother,  and 
said  that  her  mind  was  a  blank  as  to  everything  that 
had  happened  on  that  fatal  night. 

This  was  surely  enough  to  make  us  all  Abolitionists  at 
heart,  and  such,  I  think,  we  all  became.  The  very 
word  "Abolitionist,"  however,  at  that  time  implied  crim 
inal  aggression  upon  constituted  human  law  and  the  di 
vine  order  of  things;  and  yet  the  instance  I  have  given  is 
only  one  of  a  thousand  like  it,  exposed  in  later  years  to 
the  gaze  of  the  whole  country  in  Charles  Sumner's  great 
speech  on  "The  Barbarism  of  Slavery"  and  in  the  thrill 
ing  pages  of  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin." 

83 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

During  my  father's  official  life  at  Washington,  he 
made  migrations  to  the  North  every  summer,  spending 
part  of  the  time  in  New  York  and  a  part  at  "The  Hill" 
in  Stuyvesant,  and  at  some  of  the  summer  resorts.  Wash 
ington  was  comparatively  deserted  during  the  summer 
months.  Few  members  of  the  Cabinet  remained  there. 
President  Van  Buren  had  a  cottage  on  the  grounds  of 
the  United  States  Hotel  at  Saratoga,  where  he  spent  much 
of  the  summer  and  where  the  business  of  the  Chief  Execu 
tive  of  the  nation  was  conveniently  transacted.  The  im 
mense  machinery  of  the  foreign  and  domestic  affairs  of 
the  government,  as  it  is  now  carried  on,  was  then  unknown. 
As  for  the  Attorney-General,  in  the  recess  of  the  Supreme 
Court  he  had  little  to  occupy  him  at  the  seat  of  govern 
ment,  and  my  father  was  able  to  come  North  and  argue 
many  cases  in  the  courts  of  the  State  for  clients  whom  he 
was  still  able  to  retain.  In  New  York  he  sometimes 
stayed  at  Bunker's  Mansion  House  in  Broadway  near  the 
Battery.  It  was  a  type  of  hotel  not  now  to  be  found — a 
spacious  brick  structure  with  ample  halls,  sitting-rooms, 
and  upstairs  bedchambers,  in  which  its  proprietors,  of 
the  best  Nantucket  stock,  made  their  guests  as  comfort 
able  as  if  they  were  within  their  own  homes. 

A  select  class  of  people  availed  themselves  of  these 
peculiar  advantages,  and  Mrs.  Bunker  presided  daily  with 
dignity  at  a  table  around  which  a  great  many  distin 
guished  people  gathered  from  time  to  time.  It  was  in 
one  of  the  parlors  of  the  Mansion  House  that  I  remember 
seeing  Aaron  Burr,  a  dapper  little  old  man  with  a  round 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

head,  entertaining  two  ladies.  My  mother  had  sent  me 
in  to  take  a  look  at  him  preparatory  to  giving  me  some 
account  of  his  strange  and  eventful  career,  which  had  been 
fatally  clouded  by  his  killing  Alexander  Hamilton  in  a 
duel  at  Weehawken. 

Close  by  the  Mansion  House  and  fronting  on  the 
Battery  and  Bowling  Green  were  the  fine  residences  of 
New  York  merchants.  The  first  Presbyterian  Church 
stood  on  the  north  side  of  Wall  Street,  just  east  of  Broad 
way,  across  the  street  from  Trinity  Church,  a  short  dis 
tance  above  which  stood  Grace  Church,  then,  as  now, 
numbering  many  leading  Episcopalians  in  its  congrega 
tion.  Near  at  hand  was  the  City  Hotel,  kept  by  Chester 
Jennings,  a  most  popular  host,  who  possessed  what  is 
said  to  be  the  royal  faculty  of  remembering  names  and 
faces.  Thus,  at  that  time,  much  of  the  social  life  of 
New  York  was  below  the  City  Hall  Park;  but  the  city 
was  extending  beyond  this  limit.  For  a  time  it  seemed 
as  though  the  eastern  portion,  in  the  direction  of  Divis 
ion  Street,  would  become  a  fashionable  center.  Henry 
Rutgers  maintained  something  of  manorial  state  in  a 
mansion  which  for  many  years  was  a  landmark  in  that 
part  of  the  city.  He  owned  large  tracts  of  land  in  the 
neighborhood,  much  of  which  was  leased  on  favorable 
ground  rents  to  tenants,  many  of  whom  built  and  occu 
pied  fine  residences.  But  the  tendency  of  the  better 
social  element  was  toward  the  west  side,  and  the  Rut 
gers  region  was  abandoned  to  inferior  uses,  especially 
along  Broadway  and  the  side  streets.  The  march  of  im- 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

provement  was  steady  and  rapid ;  and  year  by  year,  as  we 
revisited  the  North,  we  found  the  great  metropolis  growing 
in  size  and  beauty,  although  large  spaces  of  unimproved 
property  intervened  between  the  buildings  on  either  side 
of  Broadway,  and  pigs  still  wandered  in  the  streets. 

[The  following  letter,  written  about  this  time  from  New 
York  where  he  was  a  short  time  in  school  (probably  the 
Grammar  School  of  the  New  York  University),  shows  my 
father's  extraordinary  maturity  of  thought,  and  is  inserted 
here  as  an  illustration  of  his  early  mental  attainments.  A 
few  errors  are  retained  just  as  they  occurred. — ED.] 

"NEW  YORK,  March  ?d,  1838. 
MY  DEAR  FATHER: 

It  is  Saturday  and  as  I  have  not  much  of  anything 
to  do  I  take  the  opportunity  to  write  you  a  few  lines.  I 
suppose  you  have  by  this  time  received  Mother's  letter 
requesting  you  to  send  on  your  Cicero  for  my  use.  We 
finished  Sallust  a  few  days  ago,  and  are  now  reading 
Cicero's  Oration  against  Cataline  in  fine  style.  I  like  it 
very  much,  although  much  more  elegant  and  therefore 
harder,  than  the  simple  narrative  of  Jugurtha  in  Sallust. 
We  read  in  Greek  "Mythological  dialogues"  written  by 
Lucan.  They  are  highly  amusing;  and  by  the  way  many 
thanks  to  both  Miss  Kane  and  you  for  the  kind  present 
you  sent  by  your  last  letter,  they  being  mostly  translations 
from  Ovid  tney  bring  back  to  my  mind  many  of  the  fables 
that  I  read  with  Mr.  McVean,  they  were  then  very  in 
teresting  but  now  they  are  still  more  so.  Mother,  Aunt 
Mary  and  Mag  are  now  engaged  in  a  disputation  that 
you  will  be  here  tonight  or  soon,  as  you  have  said  nothing 
about  it  in  your  letter  to  us  I  hope  you  will  come. 

What  a  horrid  affair  this  murder1  at  Washington 
is,  nothing  occupies  the  mind  of  persons  here  but  that 

1  The  reference  is  to  a  duel  between  Jonathan  Cilley,  of  Maine,  and  William 
J.  Graves,  of  Kentucky,  which  took  place  at  Bladensburg,  Md.,  near  Washing 
ton,  on  February  4,  1838. — ED. 

86 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

and  it  is  on  the  lips  of  all.  Mrs  Wise,  Tones,  Graves  and 
Web  are  all  condemned.  Web  and  Wise  appear  to  me 
as  if  this  passage  of  Sallust  in  which  Adherbal  says  of 
Jugurtha  "Homo  omnium  quos  terra  sustinet  sceleratis- 
simus"  might  justly  be  quoted.  I  suppose  great  excite 
ment  prevails  at  Washington  on  the  subject.  Congress 
I  see  has  taken  upon  itself  to  investigate  the  matter  but 
it  will  not  avail  anything  I  suppose  for  every  matter  of 
this  nature  is  out  of  the  line  which  is  marked  out  for 
Congress  to  observe  as  most  say  but  I  hope  it  will  not  be 
passed  over  in  silence. 

Write  soon  to  me  if  you  have  any  time  but  I  hope 
soon  to  see  your  bodily  shape. 

Good  bye! 

W.  H.  A.  BUTLER/ 

In  November,  1836,  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  elected 
President  of  the  United  States  by  an  electoral  vote  of  170 
out  of  a  total  of  294.  Of  the  other  candidates,  General 
Harrison  received  73,  Mr.  Webster  14,  and  Mr.  Hugh  L. 
White,  of  Tennessee,  26.  The  popular  vote  showed  a 
majority  for  Mr.  Van  Buren  over  all  the  other  candidates 
of  24,893.  This  was  the  fitting  culmination  of  a  remark 
able  political  career  surpassing  in  continual  success  that 
of  any  other  public  man  in  New  York.  The  first  office 
held  by  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  that  of  Surrogate  of  his 
native  county  of  Columbia  in  1808.  In  1813  he  was 
elected  a  State  Senator;  in  1815  Attorney-General  of 
New  York;  in  1821  United  States  Senator,  resigning  after 
his  election  as  Governor  in  1828.  The  latter  office  he 
in  turn  resigned  to  become  Secretary  of  State  in  the  Cabi- 

1  Until  his  admission  to  the  bar  in  1846  my  father  used  his  full  name, 
William  Howard  Allen  Butler,  but  at  that  time  dropped  the  Howard  as  the 
signature  was  inconveniently  long. — ED. 

87 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

net  of  Jackson.  He  was  appointed  Minister  to  England 
August  i,  1831;  was  elected  Vice-President  in  1832,  and 
President  in  November,  1836.  He  was  thus  almost  con 
tinuously  in  public  life  during  a  period  of  nearly  thirty 
years,  rising  step  by  step  to  the  highest  office  in  the  gift 
of  the  people.  Besides  filling  these  positions,  he  served 
with  distinguished  ability  in  the  State  Constitutional  Con 
vention  of  1821  and  was  influential  in  shaping  the  organic 
law  it  gave  to  the  State  of  New  York.  The  rejection  of  his 
nomination  as  Minister  to  England  by  the  Whig  majority 
of  the  United  States  Senate  can  not  be  considered  in  any 
other  light  than  one  of  his  successes.  It  was  a  blunder 
on  the  part  of  his  political  opponents  that  paved  the  way 
to  his  election  to  the  vice-presidency  and  made  him  the 
presiding  officer  of  the  body  which  had  refused  to  con 
firm  his  nomination. 

During  all  these  years  Mr.  Van  Buren  had  run  the 
gauntlet  of  the  coarse  and  malignant  vituperation  which 
the  Whig  press  and  partisans,  while  claiming  for  their 
party  superior  intelligence  and  respectability,  were  always 
using  as  a  weapon  of  political  warfare.  His  caution  and 
circumspection  in  spoken  and  written  declarations,  a 
trait  inherited  from  his  Holland  ancestry,  were  denounced 
as  "  non-committalism  and  duplicity."  The  sagacity  he 
exercised  in  public  affairs  was  condemned  as  "intrigue 
and  cunning";  and  his  ascendency  in  the  councils  of 
his  own  party  as  "selfishness  and  greed  of  power."  He 
was  nicknamed  "The  Little  Magician"  and  characterized 
as  a  fox.  Meanwhile  he  was  recognized  by  his  able  asso- 

88 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

elates  at  the  bar  and  bench  as  a  great  lawyer;  his  party 
leadership  was  not  only  acquiesced  in,  but  forced  upon 
him,  by  his  political  coadjutors;  the  people  of  the  State  had 
made  him  governor  and  the  people  of  the  United  States 
had  made  him  president.  His  bitterest  enemies  found 
nothing  to  assail  in  his  private  life,  and  his  integrity  as  a 
public  officer  was  never  attacked.  His  even  temper  and 
imperturbable  kindness  of  nature  were  conspicuous  traits 
of  his  character,  cementing  his  personal  and  political 
friendships,  and  even  in  the  arena  of  partisan  strife  were 
often  damaging  to  his  opponents. 

All  these  things  conspired  to  quicken  the  boyish  en 
thusiasm  with  which  I  witnessed  the  inauguration  cere 
monies  on  the  eastern  portico  of  the  Capitol  on  the  4th 
of  March,  1837,  saw  Chief-Justice  Taney  administer  the 
oath  of  office  to  the  new  President,  and  listened  to  the 
inaugural  address. 

The  satisfaction  of  our  home  circle  at  the  success  with 
which  the  career  of  our  honored  friend  of  many  years  was 
crowned  was  wholly  free  from  any  elements  of  self-in 
terest  or  advantage.  Mr.  Van  Buren  would  gladly  have 
made  my  father  Secretary  of  State  or  placed  at  his  disposal 
any  office  in  the  gift  of  the  national  Executive,  but  my 
father  was  impatient  to  take  up  his  residence  in  the  city 
of  New  York  and  there  resume  the  practice  of  his  pro 
fession.  At  the  special  request  of  his  chief,  he  retained 
the  office  of  Attorney-General  until  September  15,  1838, 
when  his  resignation  was  accepted  by  Mr.  Van  Buren  in 
a  letter  in  which  the  President  wrote:  "However  deep 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

my  regret  at  parting  with  you,  I  am  nevertheless  too  well 
satisfied  that  justice  to  yourself  and  family  requires  the 
step  on  your  part  to  hesitate  in  complying  with  your 
wishes."  Before  his  retirement  from  office  my  father 
had  already  settled  his  family  in  New  York  and  on  his 
return  to  private  life  entered  at  once  into  active  practice 
in  that  city. 

[The  following  note  shows  the  friendly  relations  ex 
isting  between  my  grandfather,  his  successor  and  the 
President: 

NASHVILLE,  July  26th,  1838. 
DEAR  SIR: 

I  received  yours  of  the  nth  instant,  some  days  since, 
and  delayed  an  answer  until  I  could  give  you  one  of  a 
more  satisfactory  character  than  I  was  able  to  do  at 
the  time  it  was  received.  I  thank  you  for  the  favorable 

•      •  '  /*  * 

opinion  you  entertain  01  my  appointment  as  your  suc 
cessor — all  I  can  say  is,  that  I  will  try  to  deserve  it — al 
though  I  am  conscious  that  I  shall  labor  under  some 
disadvantages  of  which  others  do  not  understand  the  ex 
tent  as  well  as  I  do. 

I  shall  feel  under  great  obligations  to  you  for  bring 
ing  up  the  business  or  the  office  and  clearing  it  of  exist 
ing  difficulties  as  to  the  cases  in  the  Supreme  Court — I 
hope  your  notes  will  be  copious — this  will  be  of  more 
benefit  to  me  than  of  trouble  to  you. 

I  spent  day  before  yesterday  at  the  Hermitage,  the 
late  President's  health  is  reasonably  good — he  is  now  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church — and  his  mind  and 
feelings  are  more  calm  and  serene  than  I  have  ever  known 
them — I  presented  your  respects  to  him  as  requested  in 
your  letter — he  spoke  in  the  warmest  terms  of  friend 
ship  of  you,  and  requested  me  to  return  his  best  respects, 
when  I  wrote  to  you. 

90 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

Our  political  affairs  look  better  here, — Mr.  Clay,  I 
believe,  cannot  get  the  Tennessee  vote — several  important 
movements  are  on  foot  unfavorable  to  him,  which  I  think 
will  have  the  desired  effect. 

Mrs.  Grundy's  health  is  bad,  so  much  so,  that  she 
will  not  go  on  to  Washington  with  me — I  wish  to  be  there 
by  the  first  of  Sept.  in  order  to  supply  my  deficiency  of 
information  before  it  may  be  necessary  to  act. 

Your  friend, 

FELIX  GRUNDY. 

Be  so  good  as  to  forward  the  communications  or 
notes  respecting  the  suits  by  ist  of  Sept. — F.  GR. 

To  BENJ.  F.  BUTLER,  ESQ. 

I  add  here  an  extract  from  another  letter  dated  March 
28,  1837,  recently  published  in  "the  First  Forty  Years  of 
Washington  Society,"  edited  by  Gaillard  Hunt.  The  let 
ter  was  written  by  Mrs.  Samuel  Harrison  Smith  and  refers 
to  the  troubles  of  Mr.  Pettrich,  a  German  sculptor  who 
was  then  seeking  a  professional  engagement  on  the  Capi 
tol.  Mrs.  Smith  writes: 

"  Mrs.  Taylor  and  I  are  the  most  zealous  suitors  on  his 

behalf.  She  with  the  Presd ,  I  with  his  bosom  friend, 

Mr.  Butler.  I  have  written  him  two  letters  containing 
Mr.  Pettrich's  history,  &c.,  Mrs.  Butler  came  to  see  me 
in  consequence,  and  seemed  so  tenderly  interested,  that  I 
have  great  hopes,  though  she  says  Mr.  B.  can  say  nothing 
at  present.  ...  I  think  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Butler  will  be  his 
assisting  friends,  in  case  he  does  not  get  work,  for  they  are 
the  most  benevolent  people — sincere,  zealous  Christians. 
The  more  I  know  the  better  I  like  this  lovely  family. 
Most  happy  is  Mr.  Van  B.  in  having  such  a  friend  and 
adviser."— ED.] 


01 


CHAPTER  VII 

CHARLES  BUTLER — VOYAGE  TO  EUROPE — DICKENS — LETTER  HOME,  1838 — 
PARIS — HOMEWARD  VOYAGE  INTERRUPTED — A  "WELLER"  ANECDOTE 
— TRIP  TO  IRELAND  WITH  JOHN  VAN  BUREN — ROME — POMPEII — EX 
TRACTS  FROM  JOURNAL — RETURN  HOME. 

MY  uncle,  Charles  Butler,  then  also  a  resident  of 
New  York,  who  had  been  actively  engaged  in  pro 
moting  the  development  of  Chicago  and  other  portions 
of  the  West,  had  become  somewhat  broken  in  health, 
and  about  this  time  was  advised  to  make  a  voyage  to 
Europe.  He  very  kindly  included  me  in  his  party,  which 
consisted  of  himself,  his  wife  and  his  son  Ogden,  a  six- 
year-old  boy.  We  sailed  from  New  York  for  Liverpool 
in  the  packet  ship  Pennsylvania,  commanded  by  Captain 
Smith,  on  July  7,  1838.  "Going  abroad"  as  a  trip  to 
Europe  has  been  so  long  conventionally  phrased,  was  at 
that  time  the  privilege  of  very  few  Americans.  Relatives 
and  friends  accompanied  the  outward-bound  voyagers  as 
far  as  Sandy  Hook,  where  the  leave-takings  were  measured 
not  only  by  the  sea  space  of  separation,  but  also  by  the 
impossibility  of  communications  except  at  intervals  reck 
oned  by  months. 

While  life  on  an  ocean-sailing  packet  in  1838  was  the 
acme  of  enforced  idleness,  it  had  its  advantages  over  the 
rapid  steam  passages  of  to-day  in  the  longer  time  given 

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A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

for  the  healthful  influences  of  sea  air,  and  the  greater 
certainty  of  pleasant  companionship.  The  best  company 
was  always  to  be  found  on  the  first-class  ships,  which 
then  carried  their  passengers,  usually  in  from  twenty-four 
to  thirty  days  from  New  York  to  Liverpool.  Our  ship's 
company  on  the  Pennsylvania  was  no  exception  to  the 
rule,  and  our  twenty-one-days'  passage  was  very  like  a 
pleasure  excursion  on  a  well-managed  yacht. 

I  recall  as  one  of  our  passengers  a  gentleman  of  intel 
ligence  and  taste  who  had  brought  with  him  an  enter 
taining  book  that  had  lately  appeared  and  achieved  an 
instant  popularity.  This  was  "Pickwick  Papers"  by 
"Boz."  The  owner  of  the  nom  de  plume  had  not  been 
disclosed  as  yet,  although  not  long  afterward  the  mystery 
was  solved  as  chronicled  in  the  quatrain: 

"Who  the  Dickens  Boz  could  be 

Puzzled  many  a  learned  elf, 
Till  "Boz"  at  last  turned  out  to  be 
Who  but  the  very  Dickens'  self." 

One  day,  our  friend  who  was  the  fortunate  possessor 
of  the  "Pickwick  Papers"  called  special  attention  to  the 
descriptive  powers  of  the  author,  evinced,  most  graphi 
cally,  as  he  thought,  in  the  opening  sentences  of  the  fifth 
chapter  where  Mr.  Pickwick  is  described  as  leaning 
"over  the  balustrades  of  Rochester  Bridge  contemplating 
nature,  and  waiting  for  breakfast."  It  is  indeed  a  charm 
ing  bit  of  pen-painting  of  the  quaint  old  city  and  its  sur 
roundings.  Of  course  my  friend  was  wholly  ignorant  of 

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WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

the  associations  which  endeared  the  old  city  to  Dickens 
and  which  influenced  him  in  choosing  it  for  his  home; 
and  I  have  always  thought  that  the  selection  of  that  par 
ticular  passage  as  an  instance  of  his  power  as  a  writer  was 
a  genuine  tribute  to  the  genius  of  Dickens  before  his 
name  was  known  in  the  world  of  letters.1 

Arriving  at  Liverpool  on  July  28,  I  thought  the  old 
Adelphi  Hotel,  then  the  favorite  resort  of  all  American 
visitors  to  that  port,  the  most  delightful  resting  place  im 
aginable  for  a  wave-tossed  wanderer.  In  London  I  was 
present  at  a  Sunday  morning  service  at  the  Royal  Chapel 
of  St.  James,  and  had  a  good  opportunity  of  seeing  the 
youthful  Queen,  who  had  just  entered  upon  what  was 
to  be  her  long  and  eventful  reign. 

[The  lad  of  thirteen  wrote  to  his  parents  a  long  letter 
on  his  impressions  of  England,  which  it  seems  appro 
priate  to  introduce  in  its  entirety,  without  correction,  in  a 

1  My  father  also  was  always  keenly  appreciative  of  Dickens'  genius  and  never 
failed  in  his  enjoyment  of  the  "Pickwick  Papers." 

Of  the  visit  which  the  author  made  four  years  later  to  America  my  father  once 
wrote: 

"I  am  reminded  of  Dickens'  first  visit  to  the  United  States  in  1842.  I  went 
with  my  father  and  mother  to  an  evening  entertainment  given  by  Mr.  Bryant  to 
Dickens  and  his  wife.  Probably  his  experience  on  this  occasion,  quite  memo 
rable  for  me,  was  described,  in  kind  at  least,  in  a  letter  to  Forster  his  subsequent 
biographer,  in  which  he  says:  'I  go  to  a  party  in  the  evening  and  am  so  enclosed 
and  hemmed  about  by  people,  stand  where  I  will,  that  I  am  exhausted  for  want 
of  air.'  I  presume  I  did  my  small  share  of  the  enclosing  and  hemming  about 
process,  for  naturally  I  had  the  eager  curiosity  of  a  youth  who  had  devoured  the 
Pickwick  Papers,  and  everything  else  that  Dickens  had  written  since  their  publi 
cation,  to  see  and  hear  the  great  novelist.  All  that  I  can  now  recall  of  his  words 
that  evening  are  a  few  which  expressed  his  observation  of  the  different  style  in 
which  oysters  were  served  in  Boston  and  New  York  respectively.  In  the  former 
city  he  had  seen  the  oysters  scolloped,  in  the  latter  city  they  were  stewed .' "—En. 

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A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

chronicle  of  his  reminiscences  intended  especially  for  his 
grandchildren. — ED.] 

BRIGHTON,  August  25th,  1838. 
MY  DEAR  PARENTS: 

I  believe  that  my  last  letter  was  dated  from  London, 
since  that  time  I  have  seen  a  great  deal  of  the  Southern 
part  of  England  and  also  the  Isle  of  Wight.  But  before 
I  mention  anything  else  I  must  tell  you  what  I  saw  at 
London  a  day  or  two  before  we  left.  On  thursday  (16) 
the  Queen  went  in  person  to  prorogue  Parliament  and  of 
course  I  went  in  person  to  see  her  go  for  we  could  not 
obtain  admission  without  an  order  from  the  Lord  high 
Chancellor.  It  was  the  most  splendid  pageant  I  ever 
beheld.  I  got  down  too  late  to  see  her  go,  but  Uncle 
Charles  and  Aunt  Eliza  having  gone  before  me,  did.  She 
was  in  a  state  coach  drawn  by  eight  cream  colored  horses. 
This  carriage  is  a  most  splendid  affair  and  cost  7000 
pounds  sterling  upwards  of  30,000  dollars.  It  was  built 
70  years  ago  from  a  very  curious  design,  the  body  of  the 
coach  is  borne  by  four  tritons,  two  carry  the  coachman 
on  their  shoulders,  who  puts  his  feet  on  a  scallop  shell 
with  sea  plants  growing  around  it,  these  tritons  are  repre 
sented  as  blowing  horns  to  announce  the  approach  of  the 
Monarch  of  the  Ocean.  The  pole  is  a  cluster  of  spears, 
the  roof  of  the  carriage  is  upheld  by  four  palm  trees  and 
on  the  top  stand  three  boys  intended  for  the  three  King 
doms,  England,  Ireland  and  Scotland,  bearing  up  the 
crown,  from  which  wreaths  of  laurel  fall  to  the  four  cor 
ners  of  the  roof.  The  Queen's  carriage  was  preceeded 
by  five  others,  containing  her  attendants  etc.,  all  drawn 
by  six  horses.  After  these  came  her  'little  Majesty' 
in  the  above  mentioned  vehicle,  she  was  accompanied 
by  the  Countess  of  Sutherland  (said  to  be  the  most 
beautiful  woman  in  Court),  and  a  gentleman  whose 
name  I  did  not  learn.  The  Queen  looked  quite  pretty, 
she  is  indeed  a  very  sweet  looking  amiable  sort  of  a  girl, 
quite  short,  (about  my  height  as  I  have  been  told  several 
times,)  fair  complexion  etc.,  etc.  On  Saturday  (18)  we 

95 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

left  London  for  Windsor  where  we  of  course  visited  the 
Castle.  As  the  Queen  was  expected  very  shortly  we  were 
not  allowed  to  see  the  private  apartments,  but  were  ad 
mitted  to  the  State  apartments,  which  are  splendidly  and 
regally  furnished.  We  went  to  Eton  College,  about  a  mile 
from  Windsor  where  we  saw  its  library  containing  20,000 
volumes.  From  Windsor  we  went  to  a  little  place  called 
Virginia  Water,  which  was  a  favorite  residence  of  George 
IV  in  summer  and  which  he  adorned  in  a  beautiful  man 
ner.  This  monarch  certainly  had  a  most  exquisite  taste, 
if  we  may  judge  from  his  decorations  of  this  beautiful 
spot,  they  are  all  in  taste  and  have  the  appearance  of 
natural  beauty  rather  than  artificial.  From  this  place  we 
proceeded  to  South  Hampton  situated  on  an  arm  of  the 
sea  in  the  County  of  Hampshire.  This  place  is  not  one 
of  much  interest  except  on  account  of  an  old  Abbey  sit 
uated  about  3  miles  from  it  which  was  erected  during 
the  reign  of  Henry  III  and  destroyed  by  Henry  VIII. 
This  is  a  beautiful  and  romantic  spot,  completely  in  ruins, 
and  most  magnificent  ruins  they  are,  it  is  called  'Nettly 
Abbey/  We  crossed  from  S.  Hampton  over  to  Lyming- 
ton  a  town  situated  on  the  sea  coast  and  from  thence  to 
Yarmouth  (Isle  of  Wight).  Nothing  remarkable  there. 
Thence  to  New  Port  which  is  the  chief  town  on  the  island. 
Not  far  from  here  was  Carisbrooke  Castle,  the  place 
where  the  unfortunate  Charles  I  was  confined  before  his  ex 
ecution.  It  is  now  in  ruins,  but  the  window  where  Charles 
attempted  to  escape  is  still  shown.  The  well  is  300  feet 
deep  and  is  the  same  which  was  there  when  the  Castle 
was  built.  Water  is  drawn  up  by  means  of  a  donkey. 
We  went  from  thence  to  Black  Gang  Chine  which  is 
a  wild  and  romantic  spot.  The  meaning  of  the  name 
Black  Gang  we  could  not  discover,  the  Chine  is  a  vast 
chasm  in  the  rocks.  On  the  shore  it  extends  quite  far 
back  and  has  a  very  forbidding  appearance,  it  was  on 
this  coast  that  the  ship  Clarendon  was  wrecked.  We 
spent  the  night  at  the  'Sand  Rock'  Hotel  not  far  from 
the  Chine,  which  is  quite  a  fashionable  resort,  it  is  some 
thing  I  should  think  like  Rockaway  near  New  York. 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

The  next  day  we  completed  our  journey  and  formed  al 
most  the  complete  circuit  of  the  island.  At  Brading  we 
saw  the  house  where  Leigh  Richmond  formerly  resided, 
and  the  church  (the  oldest  in  the  Kingdom)  where  he 
formerly  preached,  also  in  the  church  yard  the  tomb  of 
the  'Young  Cottager.'  On  Friday  afternoon  we  came 
from  the  isle  of  Wight  and  crossed  to  Portsmouth  in 
tending  to  take  the  Havre  Packet  to  France  but  found 
that  none  would  sail  until  Monday  so  after  seeing  what 
we  could  of  this  place  which  is  only  remarkable  as  a 
naval  station  we  engaged  places  in  the  coach  to  Brighton 
and  on  Saturday  morning  started  for  that  place,  unfor 
tunately  it  rained  all  the  time  we  were  coming  which 
rendered  our  situation  on  the  top  of  the  coach  very  un 
pleasant.  They  construct  their  coaches  here  very  differ 
ently  from  what  you  do,  having  only  seats  for  4  inside  and 
for  8  or  12  outside,  the  outside  is  much  the  pleasantest 
on  a  clear  day  but  when  it  rains  you  can  easily  imagine  its 
comfort.  We  got  to  Brighton  safely,  however,  and  are 
here  now  Monday  Aug.  27  1838. 

This  is  a  beautiful  place  the  houses  are  more  elegant 
than  in  any  place  I  have  been  in.  Most  of  them  board 
ing  houses  as  Brighton  has  but  few  inhabitants  of  its 
own.  We  are  at  the  'Old  Ship  Hotel'  rather  a  singular 
name  but  a  very  comfortable  house.  We  shall  remain 
here  probably  until  Wednesday  morning  when  we  start 
for  France  embarking  for  Dieppe — thence  to  Paris- 
Tell  Hatty  that  I  received  her  letter  and  yours  safely 
and  was  very  much  gratified  to  see  that  she  was  so  thought 
ful  and  good  as  to  'leave  the  breakfast  table'  and  write 
to  me  and  I  hope  the  other  girls  will  make  the  same  sacri 
fice  not  excepting  Lizzy.  Of  course  I  shall  hear  from 
Ben  without  his  being  told.  I  saw  John  Van  Buren  in 
London,  he  is  quite  a  lion  there  as  they  consider  him  the 
'heir  apparent'  he  has  been  presented  to  the  Queen  and 
had  the  pleasure  of  speaking  to  her  etc.  Mr.  Tudor  has 
gone  off  to  Hungary  and  therefore  I  cannot  expect  to 
see  him.  Tell  Miss  Murray  (Mag)  if  you  see  her  that  I 
have  not  yet  seen  her  sister  but  will  perhaps  in  Paris. 

97 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

When  this  letter  reaches  you,  you  will  not  perhaps  be  in 
New  York.  If  you  are  at  Stuyvesant  give  my  love  to 
Grand  Pa,  Grand  Ma  and  all.  I  do  not  know  how  we 
shall  return,  Aunt  Eliza  does  not  like  steamships  and  so  I 
suppose  we  shall  have  to  cross  in  the  old  way.  The  idea 
of  going  back  so  is  very  shocking  to  me  but  I  hope  that 
as  it  will  be  going  home  I  shall  not  think  so  much  of  it. 
Uncle  Charles  is  much  better  than  he  was  and  seems 
to  improve  very  much.  I  do  not  see  how  any  one  can 
help  being  healthy  in  such  a  place  as  this,  the  sea  air  is 
so  invigorating  and  healthy,  it  is  a  great  place  for  inva 
lids.  I  see  by  the  papers  that  there  has  been  quite  a 
fire  at  New  York.  This  is  all  the  news  I  can  find  with  the 
exception  of  the  death  of  Comrde.  Rogers  which  I  noticed. 
We  shall  go  back  to  London  after  our  return  to  Paris, 
where  I  will  write  you  again  if  I  can.  I  shall  not  be  able 
to  in  France  as  we  will  go  in  such  a  hurry  and  be  so  much 
occupied  in  seeing  that  it  will  take  all  my  time.  There  is 
a  great  Cricket  match  to  day  here  at  the  '  Royal  Cricket 
Grounds'  and  I  shall  go  and  see  it  I  believe.  There 
never  were  such  people  as  the  English  for  amusements, 
Horse  races,  Regattas,  Cricket  Matches,  Hunts  and  all 
kinds  of  sports  in  the  open  air,  are  constantly  set  on  foot. 
Give  my  love  to  all,  I  am  very  anxious  to  see  you  all 
although  not  exactly  '  home  sick '  and  am  looking  forward 
to  the  time  when  we  shall  again  meet  with  great  pleasure. 
I  hope  my  dear  parents  that  I  shall  profit  by  all  I  see, 
not  only  in  a  temporal  but  also  in  a  spiritual  point  of 
view  and  that  as  I  am  separated  from  you  I  may  throw 
myself  more  upon  the  guidance  and  assistance  of  my 
heavenly  father. 

Your  dutiful  and  affectionate  son, 

W.  H.  A.  BUTLER. 
B.  F.  Butler,  Esq., 
New  York. 

P.  S. — To  my  dear  little  sister  Lizzy. 

MY  DEAR  LIZZY — Brother  Willy  wants  to  see  little 
sister  very  much  indeed  and  doesn't  know  what  he  shall 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

do  without  her.  Brother  Willy  is  a  great  way  off  from 
Lizzy  and  has  sailed  in  that  great  ship  wnich  Lizzy 
saw.  Brother  Willy  has  seen  a  great  many  things  and 
a  great  many  pretty  little  girls  but  he  hasn't  seen  any  little 
girl  so  pretty  as  his  dear  little  sister  Lizzy.  Cousin  Oggy 
is  with  Brother  Willy  and  Cousin  Oggy  is  riding  on  a 
donkey  now,  a  donkey  is  a  little  animal  smaller  than  a 
little  pony  and  Cousin  Oggy  is  on  a  little  brown  donkey 
and  a  boy  has  got  a  stick  and  is  driving  the  donkey 
and  Cousin  Oggy  sits  on  the  donkey's  back.  Brother 
Willy  hopes  that  Lizzy  will  write  him  a  long  letter 
and  tell  him  how  she  is  and  Brother  Willy  hopes  to 
come  home  very  soon  and  see  his  dear  papa  and  mama 
and  brother  Benny  and  sisters  and  his  dear  little  sister 
Lizzy. 

Your  affectionate  brother  WILLY. 
To  Miss  Lizzy  Butler. 

In  Paris  we  were  kindly  entertained  by  General  Cass, 
who,  as  Secretary  of  War,  had  been  a  close  associate  in 
General  Jackson's  Cabinet,  with  my  father,  who  was 
appointed  to  succeed  him  for  the  interval  between  his 
retirement  in  the  fall  of  1836  and  the  4th  of  March  1837. 
The  duties  of  Attorney-General  and  Secretary  of  War  had 
been  simultaneously  discharged  by  my  father  in  order 
to  relieve  General  Jackson  of  the  necessity  of  bringing 
into  the  Cabinet  a  new  member  within  a  few  months  of 
the  expiration  of  his  presidency. 

My  uncle's  health  not  being  fully  restored,  he  deter 
mined  to  remain  in  Europe  and  spend  the  winter  in  Italy, 
arranging  for  my  return  home  in  company  with  and  under 
the  care  of  John  Van  Buren,  son  of  the  President,  with 
whom  I  embarked  at  Liverpool  in  the  steamer  Liverpool, 

99 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

one  of  the  earliest  of  the  English  transatlanic  steamers. 
Soon  after  leaving  the  Channel  we  encountered  heavy 
head-winds  and  seas  against  which  the  vessel  made  very 
slow  progress.  I  was  in  a  state  of  abject  wretchedness, 
occupying  the  top  berth  in  a  state-room  in  which  my 
companion  was  a  little  old  Englishman,  who,  like  the  im 
mortal  Wellers,  had  a  persistent  habit  of  pronouncing 
W  in  place  of  V,  and  vice  versa.  But  for  my  companion 
ship  on  shipboard  with  him  I  should  never  have  believed 
that  Dickens  had  drawn  the  peculiar  dialect  of  the  Well 
ers  from  real  life. 

Every  morning  as  we  steamed  westward  my  fellow 
passenger  would  call  for  the  cabin  steward,  miscalled  ap 
parently  for  the  purpose  of  putting  into  requisition  the 
wrong  consonant,  "Vaiter."  As  soon  as  the  door  was 
opened  he  would  ask,  "Vaiter,  vitch  vay  is  the  vind?" 
to  which  the  steward's  habitual  response  was,  "West 
nor-west,  sir,"  and  from  the  lower  berth  would  come  the 
despondent  ejaculation,  "Vest  nor-vest?  Vot  a  vind!" 
And  "vest  nor-vest"  the  wind  continued  to  be,  dead 
ahead,  until  on  the  tenth  day  out  the  captain  informed  us 
that  he  had  only  a  few  days'  supply  of  coal  left  and  that 
he  concluded  to  put  the  ship  about  and  make  for  Cork 
as  a  port  of  refuge.  Accordingly  in  mid-ocean  our  course 
was  reversed,  to  our  great  physical  relief,  although  with 
sore  disappointment. 

My  homeward  voyage  was  thus  broken  up,  and  my 
uncle  on  hearing  of  its  result  wrote  me  to  join  him  in  Paris 
and  accompany  him  to  Italy.  After  making  with  Mr. 

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A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

Van  Buren,  one  of  the  most  attractive  and  delightful  of 
companions,  a  tour  through  the  Lak^s  v)f:  Kiilarney  'and 
northward  to  Dublin,  I  crossed  tb^r  two  channels, -from 
Ireland  to  Paris,  where  I  gladly  rejoined  my  uncle  and 
aunt,  and  thence  journeyed  with  them  to  Rome.  The 
papal  Rome  of  Gregory  XVI,  in  1838,  was  very  different 
from  the  regal  Rome  of  King  Humbert  in  1898.  The 
genius  of  modern  improvement  and  the  spirit  of  archae 
ological  research  had  not  disturbed  the  lethargy  of  the 
ecclesiastical,  medieval  city.  Priests  and  monks,  beg 
gars  and  contadini  filled  the  streets,  and  foreigners  were 
few  as  compared  with  the  crowds  who  now  swarm  in  the 
streets  of  the  Eternal  City.  We  had  lodgings  in  the  Via 
San  Vitale  with  a  certain  Narducci,  who  held  a  posi 
tion  of  some  kind  in  the  Pope's  military  establishment. 
Besides  giving  me  lessons  in  Italian,  he  was  an  invalu 
able  guide,  in  many  ways  most  serviceable  for  my  ac 
quisition  of  knowledge  of  Italian  manners  and  customs. 
I  made  myself  as  familiar  with  Rome  as  with  my  native 
city  of  Albany,  a  kind  of  education  which,  perhaps,  was 
more  beneficial  than  that  to  which  I  looked  forward  while 
suffering  on  the  Liverpool  before  her  prow  was  turned 
eastward. 

After  our  long  sojourn  in  Italy,  we  turned  our  steps 
homeward,  crossing  Mont  Cenis  by  the  old  pass  which 
furnished  the  highway  easiest  of  travel  across  the  Alps, 
returned  to  Paris,  and  then  embarked  in  the  sailing-packet 
Burgundy,  commanded  by  Captain  Lines,  at  that  time 
and  for  years  afterward  one  of  the  most  popular  captains 

101 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

of  sailing-vessels  and  steamers,  and  reached  home  in  the 
summer  of  1.1839;  i  ; 

[There  are  still  extant  a  few  pages  from  a  journal 
kept  by  this  youthful  traveler  during  his  long  European 
trip  which  give  graphic  descriptions  of  cities  visited,  meet 
ings  with  friends  and  important  happenings,  all  too 
lengthy  to  insert  here. 

We  find  from  these  journalistic  fragments  how  Rome 
appeared  seventy  years  ago  to  an  enthusiastic  and 
thoughtful  American  boy.  Here  are  recorded  his  impres 
sions  of  the  Italian  people,  of  the  churches  of  Rome,  the 
ascent  of  St.  Peter's,  of  visits  to  artists'  studios,  notably 
that  of  Thorwaldsen,  a  long  account  of  the  Carnival  of 
1838,  and  many  other  interesting  items. 

The  pages  containing  a  description  of  the  ruins  of 
Pompeii  are  so  vivid  in  portrayal  and  so  literary  in  style 
that  they  are  inserted  here. — ED.] 

"At  last  we  reached  Pompei.  The  town  itself  cannot 
be  seen  as  it  is  surrounded  by  piles  of  ashes  higher  than 
the  tops  of  the  houses.  We  drove  first  to  the  amphi 
theatre;  the  plan  being  to  dismount  there  and  walk  down 
to  the  temple  of  Isis  which  is  at  the  beginning  of  the  town 
itself,  there  to  lunch,  and  finish  the  rest  afterwards. 

"As  the  amphitheatre  has  been  excavated  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  town,  it  is  quite  a  walk  down  to  that  part, 
which  has  been  excavated  so  that  you  literally  walk  over 
a  city — the  part  from  the  theatre  to  the  temple  of  Isis 
being  yet  entombed. 

"The  amphitheatre  is  of  course  much  smaller  than  the 
Coliseum  at  Rome,  but  if  possible  more  interesting  as  it 
is  more  perfect.  You  can  easily  see  the  plan  at  once  and 
as  most  of  the  seats  are  remaining  it  seemed  as  if  ready 
again  to  be  the  scene  of  blood  and  sport.  It  commands 
a  fine  view  of  Vesuvius  and  the  cloud  of  smoke  and 
stream  of  fire,  being  at  once  discerned  by  the  spectators 
what  must  have  been  the  consternation  and  alarm  that 
seized  them  as  they  turned  from  the  sports  of  the  arena 

102 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

to  seek  safety  in  flight.  It  was  doubly  interesting  to  those 
of  us  who  had  read  Mr.  Bulwer's  enchanting  novel  'The 
last  days  of  Pompei'  as  he  had  revived  the  characters 
who  had  actually  lived,  and  also  interwoven  an  enticing 
story  so  as  to  render  almost  every  house,  the  scene  of  some 
event  which  was  now  called  to  mind  with  gratification. 

"We  then  after  examining  the  amphitheatre  sufficiently 
took  the  way  to  the  temple  of  the  Goddess  of  Isis — It  was 
small,  but  very  pretty,  and  the  altar  still  stands,  and  the 
shrine  for  the  oracle  still  remains  as  perfect  as  if  just  com 
pleted.  In  fact  Pompei  was  so  taken  by  surprise,  the  work 
of  destruction  so  soon  completed,  that  everything  was  found 
in  as  perfect  order  as  if  freshly  made,  the  mosaic  pave 
ments  are  bright  and  smooth,  the  paintings  on  the  walls 
have  a  vivid  and  clear  color,  the  paving  of  the  streets  re 
tain  the  marks  of  chariot  wheels,  and  everything,  (save 
perhaps  the  want  of  roofs  to  the  houses)  gives  it  the  ap 
pearance  of  a  city  whose  owners  have  deserted  it  but  for 
a  time,  or  very  shortly,  and  not  as  the  wreck  of  a  town 
which  has  been  mouldering  in  the  dust  for  eighteen  cen 
turies. 

"It  is  indeed  melancholy  though  deeply  interesting, 
to  wander  through  the  streets,  all  is  so  silent,  so  still,  so 
desolate.  We  enter  the  houses,  we  pass  the  porter's 
lodge;  where  is  the  servant  to  announce  us?  we  cross 
the  open  court,  where  is  the  fountain  that  used  to  play  ? 
we  enter  the  little  garden,  (which  each  house  has)  and 
look  in  vain  for  the  neatly  trimmed  flowers  that  were 
wont  to  spread  their  odors  through  the  mansion,  we  look 
into  the  banquet  halls  but  where  is  the  host  to  receive, 
or  the  guests  to  eat,  and  so  may  we  wander  into  the  bed 
rooms,  but  the  couches  are  gone,  and  so  are  the  owners, 
and  we  leave  the  house  to  seek  elsewhere  for  life  and 
animation.  The  bakers'  shops  look  so  clean  and  nice,  the 
mill  for  the  corn  so  perfect  that  we  are  tempted  to  believe 
that  the  baker  has  but  stepped  out  and  will  soon  return, 
but  wait  so  long  as  we  may,  call  as  loud  as  we  will,  no  foot 
steps  are  heard,  no  response  is  given  to  our  cry,  and  we 
pass  on  again. 

103 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

"But  the  baths  are  so  perfect,  the  roofs  entire,  the  tubs 
remaining,  that  surely  some  one  will  be  here  before  long 
to  bathe,  but  the  cold  bath  is  uncalled  for,  the  hot  one 
neglected,  and  the  tepid  one  waits  for  an  occupant,  so  that 
we  leave  the  bathing  houses  for  the  open  air.  Hurrying 
on  we  pass  through  the  forum,  the  temples,  the  schools, 
into  more  houses,  cross  more  streets,  but  look  in  vain  for 
the  buyers  and  sellers,  the  priest  and  the  people,  the  ped 
agogue  and  the  pupil,  and  at  last  we  must  conclude  that  it 
is  a  "city  of  the  dead/'  whose  owners  will  never  return, 
whose  streets  will  forever  be  silent,  whose  houses  will  never 
again  be  occupied  and  whose  public  places  will  moulder 
into  dust  before  the  hum  of  business  will  again  be  heard. 

"But  here  again  I  have  been  giving  away  to  my  en 
thusiasm  and  am  afraid  that  you  who  read  my  journal 
will  suffer  for  it  if  you  expect  to  have  a  description  of 
Pompei,  for  it  is  impossible  now  to  retrace  my  steps  to 
the  temple  of  Isis." 

[Here  is  another  quotation  from  my  father's  journal, 
giving  his  observations  while  stopping  over  Sunday  at 
a  small  village  just  outside  of  Genoa. — ED.] 

"Sund.  Passing  the  sabbath  at  this  place,  but  how 
unlike  the  sabbath,  the  people  in  their  holiday  costumes 
are  lounging  about  the  square,  on  which  stands  our  hotel. 
I  have  climbed  up  the  high  hill  at  the  back  of  the  town 
and  was  rewarded  with  a  fine  view,  the  Alps  were  before, 
and  the  Appenines  behind  us  whilst  at  our  feet  lay  a  long 
wide  plain  stretching  to  the  Hadriatic.  In  the  morning  I 
had  noticed  a  rope  tied  to  a  pole  in  the  middle  of  the  street 
and  extending  in  a  slanting  direction  to  the  window  of  a 
house  fronting  the  square,  on  which  stands  the  Cathedral 
and  public  fountain.  On  inquiry  I  found  that  a  little 
girl  was  going  to  walk  up  it  from  the  street  to  the  window, 
for  the  amusement  of  the  people ! ! !  And  sure  enough 
about  four  o'clock  the  girl  made  her  appearance,  and  as 
cended  the  rope  and  came  down  again  to  the  great  delight 
of  the  people. 

"What  a  state  of  affairs  ! ! " 

104 


CHAPTER  VIII 

UNITED  STATES  DISTRICT  ATTORNEYSHIP  OF  NEW  YORK  OFFERED  TO  BEN 
JAMIN  F.  BULTER — ACCEPTED — PRESIDENTIAL  CAMPAIGN  OF  1840 — • 
THE  "LOG-CABIN  AND  HARD-CIDER"  FRENZY — VAN  BUREN'S  RETIRE 
MENT  AT  LINDENWALD — DEATH  OF  PRESIDENT  HARRISON — GEORGE 
WILLIAM  CURTIS — NEW  YORK  UNIVERSITY  LAW  SCHOOL — ESTABLISHED 
BY  BENJAMIN  F.  BUTLER — LETTER  OF  JUSTICE  STORY — GRADUATION 
AT  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEW  YORK  IN  CLASS  OF  1843 — CLASS  DINNERS. 

DURING  our  absence  in  Europe  strange  things  had 
happened  at  home.  Samuel  Swartwout,  whom 
President  Jackson  in  1829  had  appointed  Collector  of 
the  Port  of  New  York  against  the  earnest  protest  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren,  had  been  discovered  to  be  a  defaulter  to  an 
enormous  amount,  the  result  of  misappropriations  of 
public  money  which  he  had  practiced  for  seven  years. 
Some  time  afterward,  William  M.  Price,  United  States 
District  Attorney  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York, 
committed  suicide.  These  disastrous  events  alarmed  the 
government,  and  President  Van  Buren  called  upon  my 
father  to  aid  him  by  accepting  the  vacant  office  of  Dis 
trict  Attorney. 

This  was,  of  course,  a  position  inferior  in  rank  to  that 
of  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States,  but  it  was  at 
that  time  peculiarly  representative  in  New  York  of  the 
Federal  Government.  John  Duer,  one  of  my  father's 

105 


WILLIAM   ALLEN   BUTLER 

associates  in  the  Revision,  had  held  it  under  John  Quincy 
Adams.  It  did  not  require  absence  from  home  nor  pre 
clude  private  practice  in  the  courts.  It  was  liberally 
compensated  by  the  fees  allowed  by  law  in  lieu  of  salary, 
and  was  regarded  by  the  profession  as  a  post  of  high  dis 
tinction.  My  father  held  the  office  during  the  remainder 
of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  term,  and  was  succeeded  on  March 
4,  1841,  by  Ogden  Hoffman,  one  of  the  most  eminent 
and  eloquent  members  of  the  New  York  Bar. 

The  year  1840  was  marked  by  an  extraordinary  and 
almost  unprecedented  period  of  political  excitement. 
During  the  administration  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  financial 
distress  and  commercial  failures  had  been  wide-spread 
through  the  country.  A  mania  for  speculation  had  set 
in;  a  so-called  credit  system  had  supplanted  sound  mone 
tary  conditions,  and  after  sowing  the  wind  in  reckless 
ventures,  the  trading  portion  of  the  public  had  reaped 
the  whirlwind  of  disaster  and  ruin. 

Mr.  Van  Buren,  in  his  administration  of  the  govern 
ment,  had  not  swerved  from  the  principles  and  policy  of 
his  party.  He  stood  for  sound  money  and  the  absolute 
divorce  of  government  from  the  business  of  banking,  as 
then  favored  by  the  Whig  party.  He  resisted  alike  the 
pressure  of  friends  and  foes,  and  was  true  to  the  doctrines 
he  had  maintained  and  the  pledges  he  had  given.  The 
Whig  leaders  found  their  opportunity  in  the  prevailing 
discontent  and  distress,  and,  setting  aside  the  claims  of 
Henry  Clay,  nominated  for  the  presidency,  solely  on  the 
ground  of  his  "availability,"  William  Henry  Harrison,  of 

1 06 


A   RETROSPECT  OE   FORTY  YEARS 

Ohio,  the  so-called  "Hero  of  Tippecanoe,"  giving  to  John 
Tyler,  of  Virginia,  the  second  place  on  the  ticket. 

These  nominations  were  followed  by  a  canvass  unpar 
alleled  for  the  gross  and  demoralizing  methods  by  which 
it  pandered  to  the  cravings  of  the  people  for  a  change 
of  administration.  As  always  under  political  conditions 
similar  to  those  which  then  existed  in  the  United  States, 
a  dissatisfied  minority,  clamoring  for  the  overthrow  of  an 
existing  administration,  charged  against  it  all  the  evils 
of  which  the  people  complained,  and  on  this  basis,  with 
out  having  any  distinct  principles  or  policy,  set  on  foot  the 
grotesque  and  semi-barbarous  "log-cabin  and  hard-cider" 
campaign. 

Had  I  not  been  an  eye-witness  of  these  performances, 
I  could  hardly  believe  that  a  civilized  people,  the  founders 
and  promoters  of  free  government  on  the  western  hemi 
sphere,  could  have  exhibited  such  a  travesty  on  the  serious 
business  of  electing  a  President  as  went  on  in  the  sum 
mer  and  autumn  of  1840.  Carl  Schurz,  in  his  life  of 
Henry  Clay,  says  of  the  campaign  that  there  has  probably 
never  been  one  "of  more  enthusiasm  or  less  thought.  .  .  . 
As  soon  as  it  was  finally  started,  it  resolved  itself  into  a 
popular  frolic.  There  was  no  end  of  monster  mass  meet 
ings,  with  log  cabins,  raccoons  and  hard  cider.  One  half 
of  the  American  people  seemed  to  have  stopped  work  to 
march  in  processions  behind  brass  bands  or  drum  and 
fife  to  attend  huge  picnics,  etc."  Edward  M.  Shepard,  in 
his  admirable  biography  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  says  "The 
Whig  campaign  was  highly  picturesque.  Meetings  were 

107 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

measured  by  'acres  of  men/  They  gathered  on  the  field 
of  Tippecanoe.  Revolutionary  soldiery  marched  in  ven 
erable  processions.  Wives  and  daughters  came  with  their 
husbands  and  fathers.  There  were  the  barrel  of  cider,  the 
coon-skins,  and  the  log  cabin  with  the  live  raccoon  running 
over  it,  and  the  latch-string  hung  out;  for  Harrison  had 
told  his  soldiers  when  he  left  them,  that  never  should  his 
door  be  shut  'or  the  string  of  the  latch  pulled  in.' ' 

The  names  of  the  rival  candidates  afforded  rare  op 
portunities  for  the  exercise  of  the  genius  of  political  versi 
fiers.  All  over  the  country  the  air  was  vocal  with  the 
resounding  campaign  song: 

"What  has  caused  this  great  commotion,  motion,  motion, 
Our  country  through? 
It  is  the  ball  a-rolling  on, 
For  Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too,  Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too !" 

accompanied  by  the  refrain: 

"Van,  Van  is  a  used-up  man." 

When  in  September,  Maine,  heretofore  a  Democratic 
State,  gave  the  Whig  nominee  for  governor  a  small  ma 
jority,  the  same  poetic  genius  which  inspired  the  lyric 
from  which  I  have  already  quoted,  chronicled  the  event 
in  lines  that  declared: 

"Maine  went,  hell-bent, 
For  Governor  Kent." 

The  city  of  New  York  was  not  behind  the  rest  of  the 
organized  disreputability  of  this  extraordinary  campaign. 
A  large  plot  of  vacant  land  on  the  southeast  corner 

1 08 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

of  Broadway  and  Prince  Street  furnished  a  conspic 
uous  site  for  a  large  log  cabin,  with  accessories  such  as 
are  described  by  Mr.  Schurz  and  Mr.  Shepard,  while 
other  similar  places  of  rendezvous  were  set  up  elsewhere 
in  the  metropolis.  Doubtless  there  were  many  serious 
discussions  on  the  political  issues  really  involved,  for  both 
parties  included  real  statesmen  of  the  highest  order  of 
intellect,  who,  in  spite  of  the  violent  political  antagonism, 
were  truly  patriotic.  But  their  influence  upon  the  popu 
lar  mind  went  for  little  in  comparison  with  the  effect 
produced  by  the  reckless  saturnalia  of  singing  and  shout 
ing  which  culminated  in  exulting  paeans  of  victory  when 
Harrison  and  Tyler  were  declared  to  be  the  successful 
candidates.  They  received  234  electoral  votes  against 
60  for  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  a  popular  majority  of  nearly 
1 50,000. 

Shortly  after  his  retirement  from  the  presidency,  Mr. 
Van  Buren  established  his  residence  in  a  country  seat 
near  Kinderhook,  known  in  the  neighborhood  as  the 
Van  Ness  estate.  He  refitted  the  old  mansion  and  laid 
out  the  adjacent  grounds  to  suit  his  taste,  naming  the  place 
"Lindenwald"  in  allusion  to  the  numerous  linden  trees 
in  front  of  the  house. 

When  Mr.  Van  Buren  left  Washington  on  March  4, 
1841,  he  came  directly  to  my  father's  house  in  New  York, 
where  he  made  us  a  visit  of  several  weeks,  and  where,  on 
April  4,  1841,  he  received  the  unexpected  news  of  the 
death  of  President  Harrison.  This  amiable  and  excellent 
man,  transferred  from  the  accustomed  quiet  of  his  home 

109 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

to  the  White  House  in  Washington,  had  found  himself 
overwhelmed  not  so  much  by  any  pressing  duties  of  his 
high  office  as  by  a  vast  and  hungry  pack  of  office-seekers 
eager  for  the  spoils  of  victory.  It  was  told  at  the  time 
that  in  his  efforts  to  escape  from  them  he  would  leave 
the  White  House  by  one  of  the  doors  in  the  rear  of  the 
building  and  betake  himself  for  refuge  to  the  house  of 
Levi  Woodbury,  who  had  been  Mr.  Van  Buren's  Secre 
tary  of  the  Treasury.  But  he  finally  broke  down  and 
after  a  short  illness  found  repose  in  the  grave.  John 
Tyler,  who  succeeded  to  the  presidency,  bitterly  disap 
pointed  the  Whigs.  He  turned  a  cold  shoulder  to  the 
men  whose  votes  had  secured  his  election,  and  vetoed  their 
cherished  measure,  the  bill  re-chartering  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States. 

My  father's  house  in  New  York  was  in  Washington 
Place,  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Greene  Street.  A  near 
neighbor  on  the  same  block  was  George  Curtis.  His  son, 
George  William  Curtis,  was  my  friend  of  many  years 
and  until  his  death,  in  1892.  On  the  west  end  of  the 
block  stood  the  then  newly  erected  marble  building  of 
the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York,  now  no  longer  in 
existence,  as  it  has  been  replaced  in  later  years  by  a  more 
modern  structure.  To  the  propinquity  of  the  University 
to  our  New  York  house  was  largely  due  the  determination 
that  my  college  course  should  be  within  its  walls.  In  ad 
dition  to  this  my  father  had  been  an  early  friend  of  the 
enterprise  which  contemplated  the  founding  in  the  city  of 
New  York  of  an  institution  worthy  of  the  name  and 

no 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

embracing  the  purposes  of  a  true  university.  He  had  a 
great  desire  to  teach  the  law  as  a  science  and  devoted 
much  of  his  time  and  thought  to  the  elaboration  of  a 
scheme  of  instruction  to  be  carried  on  in  a  law  school 
of  which  he  should  be  the  responsible  head. 

In  the  prosecution  of  this  scheme  my  father  enlisted 
the  cooperation  of  William  Kent,  son  of  the  Chancellor, 
and  then  high  in  professional  repute,  and  David  Graham, 
Jr.,  also  one  of  the  most  brilliant  members  of  the  New 
York  bar,  author  of  a  standard  work  on  Practice  and  a 
very  successful  jury  lawyer.  The  law  department  was 
inaugurated  with  addresses  delivered  by  the  three  pro 
fessors  early  in  1838  and  a  complete  course  was  marked 
out,  most  admirable  in  its  conception  and  detail.  Con 
ducting  a  school  of  law  by  lectures  to  be  delivered  by 
lawyers  in  full  practice  at  the  bar  to  students  from  law 
offices  was,  however,  an  experiment,  and  although  some 
students  were  attracted,  the  plan  was  at  that  time  pre 
mature  and  impossible  of  success.  The  co-workers  in 
this  earliest  effort  to  establish  a  school  of  law  in  the 
metropolis  of  the  country  laid  the  foundations  on  which 
in  after  years  their  successors  were  able  with  larger  op 
portunities  and  ampler  resources  to  build  with  honor  and 
profit.1 

1  The  following  letter  from  Justice  Story  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  on  the  inauguration  of  the  Law  School  of  the  University  of  New  York 
shows  the  esteem  with  which  my  grandfather  was  regarded  by  his  colleagues  at 
the  Bar  and  on  the  bench. — ED. 

CAMBRIDGE,  July  30,  1838. 
MY  DEAR  SIR: 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  a  few  days  ago  the  copy  of  the  Inaugural 
Addresses  of  the  Law  Professors  of  the  New  York  University,  which  you  had 

III 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

My  own  studies  were  pursued  in  the  University  which, 
whatever  else  it  lacked,  was  strong  in  the  department 
of  classical  instruction.  Professor  Ebenezer  A.  Johnson, 
who  filled  the  chair  of  Latin  for  over  fifty-three  years,  was 
most  thoroughly  equipped  for  his  work,  while  in  Greek 
the  professor,  during  my  time,  was  Tayler  Lewis,  a  man 
of  profound  learning,  and  one  of  the  most  eminent  Greek 
scholars  in  the  country.  I  graduated  from  the  university 
in  1843. 

During  my  college  course  I  achieved  the  small  dis 
tinction  of  being  the  Class  Poet.  In  1842  I  wrote  for  the 
tenth  anniversary  of  the  Philomathian  Society,  and  deliv 
ered  on  that  momentous  occasion,  a  poem  entitled  "The 
Future."  A  few  days  afterward  a  member  of  my  family 
asked  me  for  the  manuscript  and  I  very  soon  received 
the  proof-sheets  from  the  printing-office  of  the  Demo 
cratic  Review,  in  which,  as  I  then  for  the  first  time  dis 
covered,  Mr.  John  L.  Sullivan,  its  editor,  had  decided  to 
publish  it.  As  this  was  without  any  knowledge  on  my 

the  kindness  to  send  me.  I  have  read  them  with  the  sincerest  satisfaction;  and 
I  have  been  gratified  by  the  high  professional  spirit  and  tone  which  pervades 
them.  Your  own  is  a  highly  finished  discourse,  and  equally  creditable  to  your 
taste,  your  judgment,  and  your  just  sense  of  the  dignity  of  the  profession.  The 
remarks  too  come  with  a  peculiar  grace  from  one,  who  has  long  borne  so  distin 
guished  a  part  in  the  honors  of  the  profession,  and  worn  them  with  such  a  spot 
less  reputation.  I  hail  the  establishment  of  your  Law  School  as  a  new  auxiliary 
in  the  cause  of  our  common  science.  I  earnestly  hope,  that  it  may  fully  prosper 
and  answer  the  noble  design  of  its  founders.  I  am  sure  that  its  success  will 
give  a  new  impulse  to  the  profession,  and  aid  rather  than  impair  the  usefulness 
of  all  other  similar  institutions. 

My  personal  good  wishes  are  altogether  with  you,  and  when  I  add, — Melioribus 
Utere  Fatis, — allow  me  to  subscribe  myself  with  the  highest  Respect 

Truly  your  obliged  friend, 

The  Honorable  BENJAMIN  F.  BUTLER,  <Signed)  JOSEPH  STORY' 

112 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

part  I  accepted  his  action  as  a  marked  compliment  but 
must  attribute  it  more  to  his  great  friendship  for  all  the 
members  of  our  family  than  to  any  merit  in  the  poem 
itself.  I  have  not  read  it  for  many  years  and  would 
hardly  dare  to  do  so  now.  I  supposed  that  with  the 
exception  of  my  own  copy,  one  of  a  small  number  printed 
separately,  it  was  utterly  extinct;  but  was  surprised  to  find 
it  in  a  catalogue  of  the  library  of  a  collector  of  American 
literature,  issued  in  November,  1900.  It  was  included 
with  some  other  of  my  publications  and  there  was  a  foot 
note  as  follows:  "Privately  printed — The  first  publication 
of  the  author — Rare/'  The  publication,  however,  was  not 
private,  for,  as  I  have  said,  it  appeared  in  the  Democratic 
Review. 

I  delivered  the  Commencement  Poem  in  1843,  having 
exchanged  whatever  higher  grade  of  address  I  was  entitled 
to  for  the  sake  of  sustaining  my  character  as  the  Class 
Poet.  This  Commencement  Exercise  has  disappeared 
from  my  manuscripts. 

[The  full  list  of  the  graduates  of  the  class  of  1843  of 
the  University  of  New  York  is  as  follows: 

N.  Beekman  Bangs,  Wm.  H.  Forman, 

James  C.  Blake,  Amasa  S.  Freeman, 

Wm.  P.  Breed,  Wm.  H.  Gardiner, 

John  C.  Brown,  Stephen  B.  Hoffman, 

Wm.  Allen  Butler,  Addison  Hotchkiss, 

Frederic  W.  Downer,  Samuel  J.  Jones, 

George  W.  Dubois,  D.  Stevens  Landon, 

George  L.  Duyckinck,  Wm.  P.  Lee, 

John  M.  Ferris,  Samuel  P.  Leeds, 

Theo.  W.  Field,  Edwin  Ludlow, 

"3 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

Benjamin  Mason,  Alfred  C.  Roe, 

Edwin  R.  McGregor,  Moses  M.  Vail, 

David  C.  Meeker,  Aaron  J.  Vanderpoel, 

Abram  Meserole,  Henry  Van  Schaick, 

Samuel  W.  Putnam,  Wm.  A.  Wheelock, 

Lewis  B.  Reed,  Wm.  H.  Wilcox. 

It  was  the  custom  of  the  graduates  to  meet  annually  in 
the  spring  of  each  year  and  dine  together,  generally  at  the 
invitation  of  some  one  member  of  their  number.  This  was 
an  engagement  which  was  never  broken  except  for  abso 
lute  necessity.  As  death  depleted  the  list,  those  who  were 
left  felt  it  a  sacred  duty  to  make  every  effort  to  be  present. 

The  sixty-eighth  dinner  was  held  May  26,  1910,  at 
the  Hamilton  Club,  Brooklyn,  by  invitation  of  Lewis  B. 
Reed,  beside  whom  there  were  present  John  M.  Ferris 
and  Henry  Van  Schaick.  The  only  other  surviving  mem 
ber  of  the  class  at  that  time  was  Samuel  P.  Leeds,  who 
has  since  died.  On  May  1 8, 1911,  the  only  surviving  mem 
bers,  Mr.  Reed  and  Mr.  Van  Schaick,  had  their  sixty- 
ninth  dinner,  on  the  invitation  of  the  latter,  at  Sherry's,  in 
New  York. 

The  tribute  to  my  father's  memory  by  his  classmates 
at  the  dinner  of  1903  is  significant  of  the  tender  loyalty 
which  bound  the  members  of  the  class  of  1843  together: 

"The  few  surviving  members  of  the  Class  of  1843 
of  New  York  University,  at  this,  their  6ist,  Annual  Re 
union  are  oppressed  with  a  special  sadness  as  they  miss 
from  their  little  gathering  to-night  the  beloved  associate, 
who  for  the  past  sixty  years,  more  than  any  other  member 
has  been  distinguished  for  his  loyal  attendance  at  these 
happy  re-unions,  having  been  present  at  fifty-six  out  of 
the  sixty  occasions  on  which  we  have  assembled. 

"William  Allen  Butler,  our  beloved  brother,  has,  since 
our  last  meeting,  been  called  to  exchange  the  earthly 
crown  of  success  he  had  so  nobly  won  in  every  depart 
ment  of  life, — for  the  more  enduring  and  Heavenly  Crown, 
and  with  our  ranks  still  further  broken,  we  lay  this  our 
loving  tribute  to  his  cherished  memory. 

114 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

"William  Allen  Butler  was  a  choice  spirit,  loyalty 
was  inscribed  upon  every  interest  with  which  he  was 
identified.  He  was  not  only  loyal  to  his  classmates,  but 
to  his  Alma  Mater,  of  whose  Council  he  was  a  distin 
guished  member  for  more  than  thirty  years  and  for  a  time 
its  President.  He  was  loyal  to  his  profession,  and  in  his 
religious  life.  His  literary  and  professional  attainments 
are  too  well  known  to  say  more  than  that  they  form  a 
part  of  the  history  to  our  City. 

"As  from  year  to  year  one  and  another  of  our  asso 
ciates,  who,  in  the  flush  of  youth,  entered  upon  life  with 
us,  have  fallen  by  the  way,  many  of  them  after  years 
of  distinguished  usefulness,  we  see  our  number  reduced 
from  thirty-two  to  only  nine,  of  whom  five  meet  to-night 
to  clasp  hands  in  love,  as  they  have  for  three  score  years, 
and  to  recall  once  more  the  memory  of  the  departed. 

"How  fondly  memory  dwells  upon  the  now  sainted 
Breed  and  Freeman  whose  long  and  faithful  years  in  the 
ministry  can  never  be  forgotten ;  the  cultured  and  refined 
Duyckinck;  the  sturdy  Mason  and  Vail;  the  unassuming 
Roe  and  Brown  and  Field  and  Putnam,  and  the  tireless 
Vanderpoel,  as  he  waged  his  legal  and  successful  battles. 

"A  few  more  years  in  the  ordinary  course  of  nature 
must  close  the  record  for  those  of  us  who  still  remain, 
and  while  we  cannot  recall  the  departed,  may  we  not 
look  forward  to  that  blessed  reunion  in  that  House  and 
Home  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  Heavens." 

My  father's  own  loyal  and  affectionate  feeling  for  his 
classmates  found  expression  in  a  poem  written  for  their 
55th  reunion  in  May,  1897,  the  last  part  of  which  runs 
thus: 

Here  as  old  friendships  breathe  their  ancient  vows, 
And  lights  of  Memory  bathe  our  wrinkled  brows, 
No  place  is  left  for  sighs  or  vain  regrets, 
The  Star  of  Being  never  pales  or  sets; 
Old  age  is  not  life  spent,  but  life  possessed, 
The  golden  grain  in  the  full  measure  pressed 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

And  overflowing  in  its  ample  store, 

So  that  to  him  who  hath  is  given  more. 

"Happy  the  man,"  the  Roman  bard  could  say, 

"Whose  word  at  night  is  'I  have  lived  to-day!'  " 

In  Life's  calm  evening,  happier  still  is  he 

Who  can  exclaim,  "I  hold  the  Past  in  fee." 

For  us  what  wealth  these  vanished  years  have  brought 

In  all  the  spheres  of  Earthly  deed  and  thought; 

In  great  events  that  still  our  memories  stir, 

All  which  we  saw,  and  part  of  which  we  were; 

In  the  strange  marvels  of  inventive  skill, 

In  succor  brought  to  every  woe  and  ill, 

In  all  the  onward  march  of  Truth  and  Right, 

In  Slavery  slain  in  Freedom's  deadliest  fight, 

In  the  new  dawn  whose  radiant  promise  lights 

Our  Alma  Mater  on  her  regal  Heights, 

In  Thought's  unfettered  flight  and  boundless  scope, 

In  all  the  loftier  reach  of  human  hope, 

And  grand  unfoldings  of  the  perfect  plan 

Of  Love  Divine  for  all  the  Race  of  Man. 

Nor  least,  to-night,  the  hidden  treasure  grasped 

As  eye  meets  eye  and  hand  in  hand  is  clasped; 

Untouched  by  Time,  its  lustre  all  undimmed, 

Our  loving-cup  with  its  full  wealth  is  brimmed; 

Safe  for  the  future,  if  we  meet  or  part, 

Kept  in  the  inmost  shrine  of  every  heart; 

Come  good  or  evil  days,  come  peace  or  strife, 

Come  gain  or  bitter  loss,  come  death  or  life, 

Whatever  change  may  be,  or  chance  befall, 

This  bond  of  friendship  shall  survive  them  all ! 

It  would  not  be  doing  justice  to  my  father  to  omit 
mention  of  his  devoted  attachment  to  his  Alma  Mater — 
an  attachment  continued  throughout  his  life.  At  the  first 
stated  meeting,  after  my  father's  death,  of  the  Council 
of  the  New  York  University,  their  appreciation  of  his 
connection  was  beautifully  expressed  in  a  memorial  reso 
lution,  a  part  of  which  I  quote  here: 

"From  the  time  when  in  1837,  anc^  at  tne  a8e  of  twelve 
years,  he  entered  the  University  Grammar  School,  Dr. 
Butler's  life  may  be  said  to  be  identified  with  this  Uni- 

116 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

versity,  a  period  of  sixty-five  years.  In  1839  ne  was 
matriculated  in  the  Class  of  1843,  a  class  which  has  given 
four  members  to  this  Council,  and  which  holds  to-day  the 
record,  possibly  unique  in  college  history,  of  having  met 
in  regular  annual  re-unions  since  the  date  of  its  gradua 
tion. 

"In  1862  he  was  elected  a  member  of  this  Council;  in 
1891  he  was  made  its  Vice-President;  in  1897  he  was 
made  its  President,  succeeding  in  the  office  his  venerable 
uncle,  Dr.  Charles  Butler,  who  died  in  that  year.  Next 
to  that  of  Dr.  Charles  Butler,  the  membership  of  Dr. 
William  Allen  Butler,  which  continued  until  the  time  of 
his  resignation  in  1898,  was  longer  than  that  of  any  other — 
thirty-six  years.  During  that  period  his  love  to  this 
university  was  unfailing;  his  loyalty  to  her  interests,  un 
tiring;  his  counsels  invaluable;  his  gifts,  many.  It  was 
in  large  measure  through  his  zeal  and  effective  work 
connected  with  its  organization  and  early  nurture,  that 
especially  the  Law  School  of  New  York  University  has 
attained  its  honorable  success. 

"In  this  Council  his  service  was  the  reflection  of  him 
self;  courteous,  judicious,  prudently  circumspect,  con 
sistent  and  influential,  of  large  and  enlightened  outlook, 
always  calm  and  clear  in  counsel,  always  well  balanced 
and  efficient  in  action.  To  us,  as  formerly  his  associates 
in  its  work,  his  memory  now  dignifies  what  his  chaste  spirit 
touched." — ED.] 


CHAPTER  IX 

TRIP  TO  NASHVILLE — VISIT  TO  "THE  HERMITAGE5' — TALKS  WITH  GEN 
ERAL  JACKSON — HIS  REMINISCENCES — CHURCH  SERVICE — THE  DE  WITT 
CLINTON  TOAST — CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  FITZ-GREENE  HALLECK — 
JEFFERSON  DINNER,  TOAST  AND  NULLIFICATION — LETTER  FROM 
GENERAL  JACKSON  TO  A  YOUNG  MAN — ANNEXATION  OF  TEXAS  A 
LEADING  ISSUE. 

IN  the  early  spring  of  1844,  while  engaged  in  the  study 
of  law  under  my  father's  direction,  I  accompanied  him 
on  a  tour  to  "The  Hermitage"  for  a  visit  to  General 
Jackson.  This  was  in  accomplishment  of  a  long-cher 
ished  desire  on  his  part  to  see  his  old  chief  once  more; 
and  there  was,  I  suppose,  connected  with  it  what  would 
be  called  in  the  phraseology  of  to-day  "some  political  sig 
nificance."  It  was  the  confident  expectation  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren's  friends  in  the  North  that  he  would  receive 
from  the  Democratic  party,  at  its  convention  to  be  held 
at  Baltimore  in  the  coming  month  of  May,  the  nomina 
tion  for  the  presidency.  General  Jackson  was  known 
to  be  warmly  in  favor  of  his  nomination  and  sanguine  of 
his  re-election.  But  some  new  and  perplexing  questions 
were  coming  to  the  front,  among  them  the  proposed  an 
nexation  of  Texas  to  the  United  States,  and  my  father 
naturally  desired  to  confer  with  General  Jackson  in  ref 
erence  to  the  existing  political  situation. 

118 


A   RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

A  journey  from  New  York  to  Nashville  at  that  time 
was  a  serious  undertaking.  It  involved  the  crossing  of 
the  Alleghany  Mountains  by  stage  coach,  and  a  long 
river  trip  by  the  Monongahela,  Ohio,  and  Cumberland 
Rivers.  But  our  plans  were  deliberately  made  and  suc 
cessfully  executed.  Starting  from  New  York,  April  2, 
1844,  we  went  first  to  Washington  for  a  few  days'  sojourn. 

I  remember  that  in  the  railroad  train  from  Baltimore 
to  Washington,  a  trip  which  then  consumed  considerable 
time,  we  encountered  a  fellow  passenger  of  a  peculiar 
American  type,  now  practically  extinct.  He  was  a  middle- 
aged  man,  well-dressed,  of  good  appearance,  but  just 
enough  overcome  by  the  stimulants  in  which  he  had  been 
indulging  to  be  extremely  loquacious.  He  volunteered  to 
engage  with  any  of  the  passengers  in  a  discussion  upon  any 
subject,  but  declared  that,  as  he  was  not  in  a  "sedentary 
mood"  he  preferred  the  general  subject  of  politics,  for 
which  he  was  well  qualified,  having  been  a  Whig  member 
of  the  Maryland  legislature.  He  went  on  accordingly, 
interlarding  his  discourse  with  so  much  profanity  that  my 
father  at  last  quietly  said  to  him  that  he  might  be  wound 
ing  the  feelings  of  some  of  his  auditors  by  the  use  of  so 
many  oaths,  and  asked  him  to  desist.  Instead  of  taking 
offense  he  said  he  recognized  in  my  father  a  gentleman 
and  a  Christian,  and  that  he  would  comply  with  the 
request,  which  he  eventually  tried  to  do  but  only  with 
partial  success. 

He  then  gave  out  that  he  was  especially  strong  in 
grammar,  particularly  as  to  the  pronouns,  and  engaged 

119 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

in  a  conversation  with  my  father  on  the  basis  of  his  gram 
matical  knowledge,  branching  off  to  the  Latin  language, 
and  saying  he  had  been  lying  awake  trying  to  remember 
the  verb  which  corresponded  to  the  word  "fulmen,"  that 
had  been  like  a  thunderbolt  in  his  brain.  He  was  very 
grateful  for  the  information  which  supplied  his  want  in 
this  respect. 

Once,  when  the  train  stopped,  as  it  did  several  times, 
at  stations  where  the  opportunity  of  a  bar  presented  itself, 
my  father  kindly  prevented  him  from  leaving  the  car  for 
the  purpose  of  refreshing  himself.  At  another  halting- 
place,  however,  he  slipped  out,  my  father  following  him 
with  the  benevolent  intention  of  arresting  him,  if  possible, 
in  the  execution  of  his  intent;  but  the  glass  of  liquor 
was  at  his  lips  when  my  father  reached  his  side.  "My 
dear  friend,"  said  the  stranger,  "I  shall  love  you  as  long 
as  I  live,  but  you  are  a  little  too  late,"  and  he  drained  the 
glass.  Had  Joseph  Jefferson  been  there  to  see  him,  he 
might  have  carried  away  a  new  touch  of  nature  for  his 
delineation  of  Rip  Van  Winkle. 

We  returned  from  Washington  toward  Baltimore,  as 
far  as  the  Relay  House,  where  we  took  a  train  for  Cum 
berland,  following  the  windings  of  the  Patapsco  and  the 
Potomac  at  what  was  then  the  rapid  rate  of  twenty  miles 
an  hour,  and  through  the  romantic  scenery  in  the  region 
of  Harper's  Ferry,  subsequently  made  memorable  as  the 
scene  of  the  invasion  of  Virginia  by  John  Brown.  Here 
we  found  that  the  stage-coach  of  the  "Good  Intent"  line, 
a  small  and  uncomfortable  vehicle,  was  about  to  leave  for 

120 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

a  night's  journey  over  the  Alleghanies  to  Brownsville  on 
the  Monongahela  River,  whence  we  were  to  be  conveyed 
in  a  steamboat  to  Pittsburg,  and  with  six  fellow  passengers 
were  compelled  to  accept  this  method  of  conveyance.  And 
thus,  during  the  entire  night,  we  made  our  weary  way  over 
the  mountain  range  and  to  the  banks  of  the  Monongahela. 
From  Brownsville  the  rest  of  the  trip  to  Nashville  was  by 
boat,  and  I  had  my  first  and  last  experience  of  travel 
on  the  flat-bottomed  steamboats  which  were  adapted  to 
the  rivers  of  the  West,  and  which  for  so  many  years 
formed  the  chief  means  of  internal  communication  be 
tween  the  North  and  the  South. 

The  Ohio  River  boats  were  quite  palatial,  and  carried 
large  numbers  of  passengers,  but  the  boat  on  which  we 
made  our  way  up  the  Cumberland  River  to  the  capi 
tal  of  the  State  of  Tennessee,  was  very  small.  In  fact,  a 
very  fat  man  who  was  one  of  the  cabin  passengers  was 
unable  to  reach  the  promenade  deck  for  want  of  sufficient 
size  in  the  companion-way  to  admit  of  his  getting  through. 
From  Nashville  a  drive  of  twelve  miles,  terminating  in 
an  avenue  of  trees,  brought  us  to  "The  Hermitage,"  where 
we  were  most  cordially  welcomed  by  General  Jackson  and 
his  family,  consisting  of  his  adopted  son,  Andrew  Jackson, 
and  the  latter's  wife  and  children.  The  house  was  a 
comparatively  modern  one,  having  been  built  to  replace 
the  original  mansion  erected  in  1819  and  damaged  by 
fire  in  1836.  It  stood  near  the  log  cabin  built  by  General 
Jackson  when  he  first  became  the  owner  of  the  place  and 
gave  it  the  name  of  "The  Hermitage."  It  was  a  square, 

121 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

two-story  brick  building,  flanked  by  wings,  with  a  portico 
in  front  and  tall  pillars  the  entire  length,  after  the  pre 
vailing  fashion  of  the  day  for  country  houses  North  and 
South.  A  meeting  of  the  presbytery  or  synod  of  the  neigh 
borhood  was  being  held  in  the  church  built  by  General 
Jackson  on  "The  Hermitage  "  grounds,  and  the  members 
of  the  convocation,  clerical  and  lay,  were  arriving  on  horse 
back  with  their  saddle-bags.  Everything  in  and  about 
the  house  was  in  accordance  with  the  usages  of  Southern 
plantation  life,  the  slaves  and  their  children  forming  quite 
a  little  community  and  discharging  their  duties  in-doors 
and  out-of-doors  after  the  fashion  of  their  race,  with  a 
characteristic  mixture  of  good-nature  and  laziness.  On 
the  first  morning  after  our  arrival  I  marveled  at  the  num 
ber  of  women  who  were  engaged  in  making  my  bed  and 
setting  my  room  in  order. 

We  found  our  aged  host  quite  feeble  in  body,  but 
mentally  very  bright  and  active.  He  occupied  one  of  the 
wings  of  the  house  and  did  not  come  to  the  dining-room 
for  his  meals,  but  left  that  spacious  apartment  for  the  free 
use  of  his  guests,  a  long  table  being  set,  plentifully  sup 
plied  with  the  products  of  the  plantation,  and  equal  to 
the  necessities  of  all  comers  at  all  times.  The  General's 
habit  was  to  sit  in  a  large  arm-chair  in  one  corner  of  the 
great  fireplace  of  his  sitting-room,  on  the  ground  floor, 
where  he  smoked  his  pipe  and  talked  with  his  family  and 
visitors.  I  think  it  was  the  very  night  of  our  arrival 
that  an  old  clergyman  named  Bain,  seated  at  the  oppo 
site  side  of  the  fireplace,  in  some  way  started  as  subject 

122 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

of  discussion  the  doctrine  of  election,  in  which  he  de 
clared  himself  a  firm  believer.  The  General  listened  in 
silence  for  some  time  and  then  taking  his  pipe  from  his 
mouth  gave  utterance  in  a  decided  tone  to  the  following: 
"Brother  Bain,  do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that  when  my 
Saviour  said  'Come  unto  me,  all  ye  who  labor  and  are 
heavy  laden,'  he  didn't  mean  what  he  said?"  Brother 
Bain  was  effectually  silenced,  and  we  heard  no  more  of 
the  doctrine  of  election  that  night. 

During  the  following  day,  on  the  porch  of  "The  Her 
mitage,"  General  Jackson  talked  very  freely  of  the  past 
and  the  present.  He  fought  over  some  of  his  battles  on 
the  fields  of  war  and  politics.  He  gave  us  some  of  the 
recollections  of  his  earlier  life,  one  of  which  I  recall  as 
associated  with  the  evident  sense  of  humor  by  which  it 
was  marked.  "When  I  was  appointed  a  judge,"  said 
the  General,  "I  went  on  a  circuit  in  a  part  of  Tennessee 
where  I  had  to  hold  court  in  a  place  where  there  was  no 
public  building,  or  anything  over  which  the  public  had 
jurisdiction,  except  the  village  pound.  Accordingly  I 
determined  to  hold  court  in  the  pound.  While  sitting 
there  as  judge  a  very  short  constable  brought  in  a  very 
tall  man,  quite  drunk,  who  had  been  arrested  and  was  to 
be  tried  for  some  offense.  When  the  subject  got  inside 
the  pound  he  looked  around  upon  the  court  and  his  officers 
with  great  contempt,  saying  'Saul,  the  son  of  Kish,  has 
come  out  to  seek  his  father's  asses,  and  lo!  here  they  are!" 

Another  story  which  he  told  with  evident  relish  was 
a  reminiscence  of  George  Poindexter,  a  Mississippi  sen- 

123 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

ator  with  whom  he  had  a  feud,  and  who,  although  he  had 
been  with  Jackson  at  New  Orleans,  became  afterward 
violently  opposed  to  him.  "Poindexter,"  said  the  Gen 
eral,  "had  been  making  violent  attacks  upon  me  and  had 
given  out  that  the  next  time  he  met  me  he  would  demand 
satisfaction.  About  this  time  I  was  going  from  *  The  Her 
mitage'  to  Washington  on  horse-back  and  stopped  at  a 
tavern  for  dinner.  While  I  was  standing  in  the  front  door 
a  stage-coach  full  of  passengers  came  up  the  road,  and 
stopped  at  the  house,  and  whom  should  I  see  seated  in 
the  back  seat  but  Poindexter.  I  stood  on  the  tavern 
steps  while  the  passengers  got  out  of  the  stage  to  take  their 
dinner.  All  got  out  but  Poindexter  and  he  remained  in 
the  corner  of  the  coach,  declined  to  get  out,  and  was 
driven  around  to  the  stable  shed  while  the  rest  of  his 
companions  came  in  and  dined." 

He  spoke  with  great  feeling  of  his  action  in  regard  to 
Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister  during  the  Seminole  War  in 
1818,  an  incident  which  caused  great  excitement  and  for 
which  General  Jackson  was  violently  condemned  in  many 
quarters,  though  he  was  sustained  by  John  Quincy  Adams, 
then  Secretary  of  State.  These  men  were  British  sub 
jects  who  had  gone  to  Florida,  traded  with  the  Seminoles, 
and,  according  to  General  Jackson's  belief  upon  the  evi 
dence  furnished  against  them,  were  aiding  and  abetting 
the  Indians  in  their  war  upon  the  United  States.  They 
were  seized,  tried,  convicted  and  executed.  So  sure  was 
he  of  his  position  that  he  declared,  "My  God  would  never 
have  smiled  upon  me  if  I  had  spared  those  men." 

124 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

He  spoke  very  feelingly  of  his  relations  with  Henry 
Clay,  his  great  rival  and  political  opponent.  Mr.  Clay's 
course  in  the  Seminole  War  debate,  when  he  declared 
against  Jackson  in  his  speech  in  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  in  January,  1819,  on  the  resolution  condemning 
Jackson's  course  in  the  Seminole  War,  particularly  in 
the  execution  of  Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister,  had  greatly 
incensed  General  Jackson.  The  resolutions  were  voted 
down,  and  the  result  was  a  triumph  for  General  Jackson, 
who  left  Washington  soon  afterward  and  did  not  return 
until  his  appointment  to  the  United  States  Senate  in  1823. 
Meanwhile  he  had  been  nominated  for  the  presidency, 
and,  there  being  no  choice  in  the  Electoral  College,  was 
one  of  the  four  candidates  receiving  the  highest  number 
of  votes  whose  names,  under  the  then  existing  provisions 
of  law,  came  before  the  House  of  Representatives  for  elec 
tion.  William  H.  Crawford,  John  Quincy  Adams  and 
Henry  Clay  were  the  others.  General  Jackson  referred 
to  these  facts  and  said: 

"I  was  on  my  way  to  Washington  to  take  my  seat  in 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and,  as  we  were  to  pass 
Clay's  house  on  the  way,  I  was  asked  if  I  had  any  ob 
jection  to  calling  on  Mrs.  Clay.  I  said  'No/  and  added 
that  I  had  no  quarrels  with  ladies.  As  I  had  a  very  high 
respect  for  Mrs.  Clay  and  her  family,  we  stopped  at  the 
house,  chatted  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  went  on. 
On  arriving  at  the  inn  at  Lebanon  I  noticed  a  number 
of  horses  around  the  door,  and  who  should  be  there  but 
Clay  himself  and  some  of  his  friends.  I  alit  and  as  I 

125 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

went  up  the  steps  he  was  standing  by  the  door,  and  on 
seeing  me  extended  his  hand.  I  waved  my  hand,  passed 
him,  and  entered  the  house.  I  expected  that  he  would 
say  something,  but  he  did  not;  but  I  afterward  heard  that 
he  complained  bitterly  that  I  should  call  on  his  wife,  and 
make  a  friendly  visit,  and  refuse  to  shake  hands  with  him 
when  I  met  him,  but  you  see,  sir,  in  that  speech  he  had 
not  only  accused  me  of  disobedience  of  orders,  but  also 
of  murder.  I  said  to  my  friends,  'Let  us  ride  on/  and 
when  I  heard  of  his  complaints  I  said,  '  If  Clay  has  any 
thing  against  me  let  him  come  and  say  it  to  me,  and  I  will 
endeavor  to  give  him  honorable  satisfaction,  but  he  need 
not  be  going  around  the  country,  like  an  old  woman, 
telling  stories  about  me.' 

"So  we  came  to  Washington,  where  I  was  asked  if  I 
had  any  objection  to  a  reconciliation  with  Clay,  and  was 
told  he  would  call  on  me  if  I  would  receive  him  and  re 
turn  the  civility.  I  answered  that  I  had  no  desire  to  go 
to  my  grave  with  enmity  against  any  man,  and  that  I 
was  ready  to  receive  any  advances  of  renewed  intercourse 
which  Clay  might  make.  So  he  called  and  paid  his  re 
spects,  and  I  returned  the  visit.  He  dined  at  my  house 
with  Adams,  and  it  required  my  interference  to  keep  them 
from  very  hard  words. 

"After  the  news  of  the  failure  of  the  Electoral  College 
to  elect  a  President,  Clay  met  me  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue, 
and,  coming  up  in  a  friendly  way,  shook  hands  with  me 
and  said,  'General  Jackson,  you  will  go  into  the  House  of 
Representatives  with  a  large  vote  and  will,  no  doubt,  be 

126 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY   YEARS 

elected/  I  drew  myself  up  and  said,  'I  shall  be  satisfied 
if  the  House  of  Representatives  in  this  important  matter, 
regardless  of  any  other  consideration,  do  their  duty  to 
their  country  and  to  their  God.'  Clay  bowed,  we  shook 
hands,  he  passed  on  and  did  not  speak,  nor  have  we 
spoken  since." 

On  Sunday  there  were  special  exercises  at  "The  Her 
mitage  "  church,  and  the  communion  service  was  largely 
attended  by  people  in  the  neighborhood.  The  scene  in 
the  little  church  was  very  impressive.  To  me,  as  a  parti 
cipant  in  these  simple  solemnities,  it  was  most  interesting 
to  see  this  venerable  man,  who  had  borne  the  storm  and 
stress  of  conflict  in  battle  and  civil  strife,  who  for  a  great 
part  of  his  life  had  been  idolized  by  vast  numbers  of  his 
fellow  countrymen,  and  had  wielded  the  powers  of  the 
chief  magistracy  of  the  nation,  now  sitting  in  this  rural 
sanctuary,  side  by  side  with  my  father,  one  of  his  former 
colleagues  in  the  administration  of  the  government,  and 
attesting  with  bowed  head  and  in  reverent  silence  his  be 
lief  in  the  verities  of  Christian  faith.  I  have  no  more 
doubt  of  the  sincerity  of  Andrew  Jackson's  religious  con 
victions  and  confessions  than  I  have  in  his  courage  or 
patriotism.1  And  yet  these  unobtrusive  acts  of  penitence 
and  piety,  after  he  had  left  public  life  for  ever,  did  not 
escape  the  sneer  of  calumnious  critics.  The  author  of  the 
disparaging  biography  which  has  found  a  place  in  the 
series  of  "American  Statesmen"  says,  on  the  closing  page 
of  the  book,  that  Jackson  in  his  last  years  "joined  the 

1  See  Felix  Grundy's  letter,  p.  90  ante. — ED. 

I27 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

church,  and  on  that  occasion,  under  the  exhortations  of 
his  spiritual  adviser,  he  professed  to  forgive  all  his  enemies 
in  a  body,"  and  adds,  as  the  final  words,  that  it  does  not 
appear  that  he  "ever  forgave  an  enemy  as  a  specific  indi 
vidual."  This  demand  for  a  bill  of  particulars  to  satisfy 
a  Yale  professor  of  the  validity  of  Jackson's  claim  to  good 
and  regular  standing  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  is  some 
what  unreasonable.  Coming,  as  it  did,  a  score  of  years 
after  the  General's  death,  it  is  illustrative  of  the  persistent 
and  morbid  virulence  of  the  New  England  anti-Jack- 
sonian  spirit  which  always  grudged  to  the  hero  of  New 
Orleans  the  national  honors  which  were  denied  to  Daniel 
Webster. 

With  like  good-humor  the  General  spoke  of  his  first 
visit  to  New  York  in  1819,  and  of  the  malapropos  toast 
at  the  public  dinner  given  to  him  by  the  Democrats  of 
that  city.  De  Witt  Clinton  was  at  that  time  governor. 
He  had  been  one  of  the  first  of  the  men  in  public  life  at  the 
North  who  had  taken  note  of  General  Jackson's  growing 
favor  with  the  people,  and  had  openly  declared  his  ad 
miration  of  him,  while  the  Democrats  of  his  State  in  their 
support  of  William  H.  Crawford,  of  Georgia,  for  the 
presidency,  ignored  the  claims  of  Jackson.  Later  on  the 
New  York  Democrats  gave  their  adhesion  to  Jackson, 
retaining,  as  always,  their  hostility  to  De  Witt  Clinton. 
New  York  politics,  then  as  ever  since,  presented  to  public 
men  of  other  States  a  field  of  exploration  as  intricate  as 
the  everglades  of  Florida  or  the  jungles  of  the  Philippines. 
Just  at  the  time  of  General  Jackson's  visit,  the  "Buck- 

128 


A   RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

tails,"  as  the  Democrats  of  New  York  were  called,  were 
particularly  hostile  to  the  governor  of  their  State,  and 
averse  to  the  recognition  of  any  claims  on  his  part  to 
public  confidence  or  favor. 

"How  could  I  know  anything  about  their  politics?" 
said  the  General.  "I  knew  that  De  Witt  Clinton  was 
governor  of  the  State  and  so  at  the  dinner  when  it  came 
my  turn  to  speak  I  gave  as  a  toast  'De  Witt  Clinton — to 
be  great  is  to  be  envied/  To  my  surprise  it  was  received 
in  silence."  He  then  went  on  to  describe  his  astonish 
ment  at  the  silence  with  which  his  toast  was  received, 
and  at  the  disgust  of  the  Bucktail  hosts  because  of  the 
blunder  he  had  committed.  In  telling  the  story,  he  gave 
the  language  of  the  toast  precisely  as  I  have  repeated  it, 
and  as  I  jotted  it  down  at  the  time  in  the  notes  I  kept 
of  his  reminiscences  given  in  my  hearing  at  "The  Her 
mitage."  Strangely  enough,  he  was  in  error  himself  in 
his  recollection,  for  the  toast  as  actually  given  was, 
"De  Witt  Clinton,  Governor  of  the  Great  and  Patri 
otic  State  of  New  York."  This  I  have  on  the  evi 
dence  of  two  of  the  guests  present  at  the  dinner,  Fitz- 
Greene  Halleck  and  Charles  P.  Clinch.  Mr.  Clinch, 
who  was  for  many  years  a  deputy  collector  of  New 
York,  gave  me  the  facts  in  conversation  and  Halleck  by 
letter. 

In  a  biographical  sketch  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  published 
just  after  his  death,  I  referred  to  this  incident,  and  quoted 
General  Jackson's  toast  just  as  repeated  by  him.  Hal 
leck  wrote  me  as  follows: 

129 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

"GUILFORD,  CONNECTICUT,  Sept.  10,  '62. 
DEAR  SIR, 

You  doubtless  recollect  that  after  the  success  of  "Tom 
Jones"  its  author  undertook  an  historical  work,  and  that 
Lady  Mary  Montagu  in  allusion  to  it,  said,  "What  a  pity 
that  my  cousin,  Mr.  Fielding,  should  have  abandoned 
writing  Truth,  and  taken  to  writing  History!" 

I  find,  in  the  Home  Journal  of  this  week,  not  having 
yet  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  volume,  an  extract  from 
your  "Sketch"  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  in  which  mention  is 
made  of  the  Toast  given  by  General  Jackson  at  a  dinner 
in  Tammany  Hall  in  March,  1819.  A  reference  to  the 
newspapers  of  the  time,  not  in  my  power  here,  will,  I 
think,  prove  that  you  have  been  misinformed  as  to  the 
exact  words  of  the  Toast.  I  was  present  on  the  occasion, 
and,  as  I  remember  them  they  were  "De  Witt  Clinton,  the 
Governor  of  the  great  and  patriotic  State  of  New  York" 
embracing,  very  gracefully,  a  double  compliment,  and  a 
rebuke,  or  not,  at  the  pleasure  of  the  listeners. 

The  belief  that  your  good  taste  will  deem  my  version 
the  most  in  accordance  with  that  sense  of  propriety  which 
was  a  characteristic,  alike  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  and  General 
Jackson,  induces  me  to  hope  that  you  will  pardon  the 
liberty  I  have  taken  in  thus  addressing  you. 
Believe  me,  dear  sir, 

Truly  yours, 

FITZ-GREENE  HALLECK. 
WM.  ALLEN  BUTLER,  Esq. 

This  was  followed  within  a  few  days  and  before  my 
receipt  of  the  first  letter  by  another: 

GUILFORD,  CONNECTICUT,  Sept.  20.  '62. 
DEAR  SIR: 

Since  I  had  the  pleasure  of  writing  you,  conscience 
compels  me  to  admit  that  while  professing  to  be  the  only 
immaculate  Historian  extant,  I  have  myself  become  a  fit 
subject  for  Lady  Mary's  sportive  wit.  For  I  now  find, 
in  a  work  of  authority,  near  me,  that  the  dinner  alluded  to 

130 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

did  not  take  place  in  March,  but  on  the  23d  of  the  pre 
ceding  February. 

I  have  reaa  somewhere  that  Mr.  Webster  and  Mr. 
Choate  once  entered  into  a  Bet  as  to  a  line  of  Pope.  On 
referring  to  a  volume  which  contained  it,  Mr.  Webster 
appeared  to  be  in  the  wrong,  but  he,  with  clever  adroit 
ness,  successfully  challenged  Mr.  Choate  to  prove  that  the 
volume  before  them  was  not  a  spurious  Edition,  and  won 
his  Bet  accordingly.  So,  in  my  case,  I  pleasantly  presume, 
that  should  the  newspapers,  1  referred  you  to,  prove  my 
version  correct,  your  legal  acuteness  will  cause  me  to  be 
non-suited  with  costs,  on  the  ground  of  the  proverbial 
mendacity  of  all  newspaper  Reporting. 

I  can  scarcely  hope  to  be  pardoned  for  trifling,  as  I  am 
now  doing,  with  time  so  constantly  and  so  usefully  occu 
pied  as  yours,  but  it  is  a  cheerful  relief  to  turn,  for  a  mo 
ment,  from  our  gloomy  present  and  doubtful  future  to  the 
brighter  and  the  better  Past,  and  to  even  the  slightest 
traits  of  character  in  the  great  and  wise  which  having  your 
very  interesting  sketch  of  the  past  recalls  to  our  memory. 

Believe  me  dear  sir, 

Truly  yours, 

FlTZ-GrREENE    HALLECK. 

WM.  ALLEN  BUTLER,  Esq. 

I  replied  to  both  of  the  above  letters  as  follows: 

TRINITY  BUILDING,  NEW  YORK,  Sept.  23d.  '62. 
MY  DEAR  MR.  HALLECK, 

Your  note  of  the  loth,  inst.  would  have  been  answered 
before  but  for  my  absence  from  the  city.  On  my  return 
this  morning,  I  find  myself  doubly  in  your  debt  by  your 
added  favor  of  the  2Oth.  Please  accept  my  thanks  for 
both.  I  am  truly  gratified  that  my  little  venture  in  bi 
ography  has  succeeded  so  far  as  to  elicit  your  friendly 
criticism  and  comment.  I  send  the  book  by  mail.  As  it 
was  originally  a  newspaper  article,  all  the  presumptions 
are,  of  course,  against  its  veracity,  but  as  to  the  point  in 
which  you  impeach  it  I  can  vindicate  its  truthfulness. 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

You  will  notice  that  I  profess  to  tell  the  tale  about  the 
Tammany  toast  as  it  was  told  to  me.  If  I  was  misin 
formed,  it  was  by  General  Jackson  himself.  When  my 
Father  and  I  were  at  the  Hermitage,  in  April  1844,  he 
gave  us  this  with  many  other  reminiscences,  and  then  re 
peated  the  toast  as  I  have  stated  it.  I  made  memoranda 
of  these  conversations  at  the  time,  which  are  now  before 
me,  and  in  which  the  toast  is  recorded  as  I  have  printed  it. 
When  I  wrote  the  sketch  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  I  looked  up 
the  record  in  Parton's  life  of  Jackson,  and  there  found 
the  toast  substantially  as  you  have  given  it.  I  thought  of 
adding  a  note  to  justify  and  explain  the  discrepancy,  but 
I  dislike  notes  and  finally  acted  upon  the  principle,  for 
which  I  may  fairly  cite  you  as  the  latest  authority,  that  in 
no  case  is  the  Historian  to  be  believed.  I  confess  that  I 
did  not  imagine  that  any  one  who  was  present  at  the  din 
ner  would  have  the  courage  at  this  distance  of  time  to 
avow  it;  but  if  I  had  thought  of  you,  who  have  made 
yourself  immortal,  I  should  have  made  you  an  exception. 
Nullum  tempus  occurnt  regi. 

Now,  my  dear  sir,  I  think  you  will  admit  that  I  have 
fairly  raised  a  question  of  veracity  between  you  and  Gen 
eral  Jackson  and  there  I  will  leave  it  trusting  that  the 
" mighty  Hector's  shade"  will  not  invade  your  slumbers 
with  a  demand  for  satisfaction. 

Yours  truly, 

WM.  ALLEN  BUTLER. 

A  final  letter  from  Halleck  closed  the  correspond 
ence. 

GUILFORD,  CONNECTICUT,  Sept.  24  '62. 
My  DEAR  SIR, 

I  am  very  grateful  for  the  kind  present  this  moment 
received  witn  your  letter  of  yesterday. 

I  can  well  understand  and,  in  doing  so,  can  reconcile 
all  conflicting  differences,  that  the  General  in  familiar 
conversation  with  you,  expressed  emphatically  the  senti 
ment  intended  to  be  conveyed  in  the  Toast,  without  re- 

132 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

calling  or  considering  important,  its  exact  words.  Let 
us,  therefore,  leave  them  as  a  mythical  theme  for  the 
Niebuhrs  of  the  hereafter. 

Should  you  think  it  worth  your  while  to  look  at  the 
Bradford  Club  Volume  of  Croakers,  you  will  find  on  page 
5  a  pleasant  account  of  the  dinner  from  the  pen  01  Dr. 
Drake,  my  companion  at  the  table.  To  him  and  me  who 
were,  politically,  indifferent  spectators  and  on  the  lookout 
for  subjects  of  merriment,  the  scene  was  delightfully 
amusing. 

So  sudden  a  transition  from  the  most  enthusiastic 
Hero-worship  on  the  part  of  many  near  us,  to  the  bitter 
words  and  more  bitter  silence  of  iconoclastic  fury,  has 
been  seldom  witnessed. 

Fortunately  the  General  outlived  their  indignation 
and  so  did  they. 

Believe  me,  dear  sir 
Yours  truly, 

FITZ-GREENE  HALLECK. 
WM.  ALLEN  BUTLER,  Esq. 

I  have  rapidly  glanced  over  the  Memoir  and  fancy 
that  I  can  rightly  name  one  of  the  persons  alluded  to  on 
page  35,  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau,  not  the  only  forgetful 
witness  of  genius,  whose  style  like  Othello's  pocket  hand 
kerchief  "  had  magic  in  the  web  of  it." 

A  more  famous  toast,  but  one  equally  startling,  was 
that  given  by  General  Jackson,  April  13,  1830,  at  a 
dinner  in  Washington  on  the  anniversary  of  Jefferson's 
birth.  It  was  said  that  this  was  to  be  a  nullification  dem 
onstration.  Calhoun,  the  leader  of  the  so-called  nulli- 
fiers,  was  present,  and  was  to  make  a  speech  in  support 
of  States'  Rights.  Jackson,  who  was  in  the  second  year 
of  his  presidency,  saw  the  danger,  and  rising  to  his  feet 
shattered  the  masked  batteries  of  the  banqueters  by  a 

133 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

single  fatal  shot.  He  gave  as  a  toast  "Our  Federal 
Union:  It  Must  Be  Preserved."  This  was  at  once  a 
political  platform,  a  campaign  document  and  a  declara 
tion  of  war.  Nullification,  the  name  given  to  the  at 
tempted  resistance  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina  against 
the  Federal  authority,  received  its  death-blow  at  that 
banquet.  Calhoun,  who  was  the  next  speaker,  vainly  at 
tempted  a  rescue  by  the  toast  "The  Union:  Next  to 
our  Liberty  the  most  dear:  may  we  all  remember  that  it 
can  only  be  preserved  by  respecting  the  rights  of  the 
States  and  distributing  equally  the  benefit  and  burden  of 
the  Union." 

Nullification  thus  became  a  dead  issue;  and  General 
Jackson  told  us  at  "The  Hermitage,"  among  many  other 
things,  that  if  Calhoun  had  persevered  in  the  disorganiz 
ing  and  rebellious  proceedings  set  on  foot  by  him  in  South 
Carolina,  he  would  have  hanged  him. 

The  General  recalled  his  first  impressions  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  who  was  a  senator  when  General  Jackson  came 
to  that  body  from  Tennessee.  "I  had  heard,"  he  said, 
"of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  non-committalism,  and  I  decided  to 
make  up  my  mind  as  to  that  on  the  first  opportunity.  An 
important  question  came  before  the  Senate,  and  while  it 
was  being  discussed  by  other  senators  I  saw  that  Mr.  Van 
Buren  was  taking  notes  and  evidently  meant  to  take 
part  in  the  debate.  So  I  made  it  a  point  to  be  in  my 
seat  when  he  came  to  speak.  He  made  a  very  clear  and 
able  speech  and  when  he  had  finished  I  turned  around  to 
my  colleague,  Major  Eaton,  who  was  sitting  by  me,  and 

134 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

said  to  him,  'Major,  was  there  anything  non-committal 
about  that?'     'No,  sir,'  said  he." 

The  most  interesting  memento  of  General  Jackson  in 
my  possession  is  a  letter  written,  while  President,  in  his 
strong,  bold  handwriting  to  a  young  man  in  whom  he 
took  a  deep  and  almost  paternal  interest,  but  who,  up  to 
the  date  of  the  letter,  had  been  less  studious  than  he  had 
hoped.  The  letter  exhibits  qualities  very  characteristic 
of  the  writer  and  evinces  a  spirit  of  tender  sympathy  and 
affection  so  much  at  variance  with  the  ideas  which  many 
were  led  to  form  of  General  Jackson  by  what  was  written 
and  said  about  him  during  his  public  life,  that  I  include  it 
in  my  reminiscences  of  him,  reproducing  it  exactly  as  it 
was  written,  without  correcting  the  two  or  three  errors  in 
spelling  which  will  be  found  in  it,  not  very  serious  for 
those  days. 

WASHINGTON,  June  13,  1829. 
MY  DEAR  H 

I  have  just  received  your  affectionate  letter  of  the  25th, 
ultimo  and  hasten  to  answer  it. 

I  am  pleased  to  find  that  you  are  determined  to  adopt 
and  follow  my  advice.  I  gave  it  with  the  feelings  of  a 
father  and  I  am  sure  it  will  bring  you  into  life  happily  and 
be  the  means  of  carrying  you  through  life  with  respect 
ability  an  honor. 

I  have  a  great  wish  that  you  should  go  to  Mr.  Otte, 
because  I  know  him  to  be  a  religious,  moral  and  honest 
man,  capable  of  teaching  you  those  branches  that  I  have 
recommended  to  your  study  and  a  man  who  will  guard 
your  morals  both  by  precept  and  example.  But  as  you 
appear  to  have  such  unwillingness  to  go  to  Mr.  Otte  and 
has  chosen  Mr.  Wellsford  as  your  teacher  should  vou 
not  have  secured  Mr.  Otte  before  this  reaches  you  I  yield 


Vv7ILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

my  consent  that  you  may  go  to  Mr.  Wellsford  but  if  you 
have  entered  with  Mr.  Otte,  you  must  on  no  account  leave 
him  before  your  session  terminates. 

If  you  should,  having  been  suspended  from  college, 
you  never  can  regain  your  character  and  now  is  the  time 
for  you  to  obtain  an  education,  which  if  you  neglect,  the 
day  will  come  when  you  will  sincerely  regret  your  present 
mispent  time.  In  a  few  years,  you  will  be  of  age  and 
without  an  education,  unless  you  attend  better  to  your 
learning  than  you  have  heretofore.  I  must  again  im 
press  upon  your  mind  the  greatness  of  an  education, 
and  urge  you  for  your  own  benefit,  to  great  application  in 
your  studies  so  that  you  may  at  least  be  a  good  mathe 
matician,  as  well  as  master  of  arithmetic,  and  that  you 
learn  to  write  a  good  hand  and  become  well  acquainted 
with  orthography,  in  which  I  find  that  you  are  at  present, 
very  deficient. 

When  I  review  the  great  expense  I  have  been  at  to 
give  you  an  education,  how  many  admonitions  I  have  be 
stowed  upon  you,  urging  you  to  proper  industry  in  your 
studies  and  application  to  your  book,  and  now  find  you 
approaching  to  manhood  without  an  education,  having 
spent  your  time  in  idleness  and  folly,  the  tear  trickles  down 
my  cheek  and  I  supplicate  my  God  that  he  may  [guide]  and 
direct  you  better  for  the  future  and  console  myself  with  the 
[promise]  in  your  letter  now  before  me,  that  my  advice 
will  be  followed  by  you  for  the  future — if  it  is,  I  freely 
pardon  what  is  past,  and  will  foster,  and  cherish  for  you 
in  my  boosom,  those  parental  feelings  that  I  have  always 
had,  and  will  bring  you  on  here  so  soon  as  I  find  you 
have  laid  the  foundation  of  a  good  education  where  you 
now  are,  where  you  can  spend  with  me  a  few  months,  and 
become  acquainted  with  your  grand  uncle  Judge  Smith 
now  in  the  Senate  of  the  U.  States. 

Write  to  me  on  the  receipt  of  this  informing  me  where 
you  are,  and  the  studies  that  you  are  engaged  in  and  in 
form  General  Coffee  who  will  furnish  the  funds  to  pay 
your  board,  schooling  and  clothing. 

Andrew  and  Samuel,  send  their  respects  to  you,  in 

136 


A   RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

which  Capt.  A.  J.  Donelson,  Emily  and  Mary  Easton 
unite  with  Major  Lewis.  Your  cousin  Andrew  has  written 
to  you  some  time  since,  you  must  write  to  him  often  as 
well  as  to  me. 

Give  my  respects  to  Thomas  J.  Donelson  and  Mr. 
Steel  and  to  all  my  friends  in  the  neighborhood  of  The 
Hermitage.  Tell  the  negroes  all  howde  for  me  that  I 
am  glad  to  hear  that  they  are  well  treated,  and  happy,  that 
I  wish  them  all  to  behave  well  and  they  shall  be  well 
treated  and  that  I  supplicate  a  throne  of  grace  for  them. 
I  wish  you  to  write  me  often,  follow  my  advice  and  believe 
me  yr  affectionate  father  and  friend. 

ANPREW  JACKSON. 

In  regard  to  political  affairs  we  found  General  Jack 
son,  in  spite  of  the  feebleness  of  his  body,  not  infirm  of 
will  or  purpose.  He  was  ardent  for  the  nomination  of 
Van  Buren  for  the  presidency  and  for  that  of  his  friend 
and  neighbor,  James  K.  Polk,  for  Vice-President,  and  ar 
dent  also  for  the  annexation  of  Texas  to  the  United  States. 
As  to  both  nominations  my  father  agreed  with  his  views. 
Mr.  Polk,  as  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
had  acquired  a  national  reputation  and  was  a  man  of  high 
personal  character.  But  the  question  of  the  annexation  of 
Texas  was  one  of  serious  difficulty.  To  deal  with  Texas 
as  an  independent  sovereignty  and  to  bring  her  into  the 
Union  by  treaty,  or  other  means,  meant  a  conflict  of 
opinion  among  our  own  citizens  and  a  possible  war  with 
Mexico.  In  fact  after  the  annexation  there  was  actual 
war.  Mr.  Clay,  who  was  generally  expected  to  be  named 
as  the  Whig  candidate  for  the  presidency,  had  not  spoken 
on  the  subject  nor  had  the  presumptive  candidate  of  the 

137 


WILLIAM   ALLEN   BUTLER 

Democracy,  Mr.  Van  Buren,  declared  his  views.  Dur 
ing  the  period  of  suspense  as  to  the  open  attitude  which 
the  two  rival  party  chiefs  would  take  on  this  momentous 
question,  the  Southern  Democrats  were  violent  in  their 
efforts  to  secure  the  addition  of  the  "Lone  Star"  State  to 
the  constellation  of  the  Union,  and  to  make  immediate 
annexation  a  leading  issue  of  the  presidential  campaign. 
By  a  coincidence,  or  as  some  think,  the  result  of  a  mutual 
understanding  between  Mr.  Clay  and  Mr.  Van  Buren, 
they  published  their  views  as  to  the  annexation  of  Texas 
about  the  same  time:  Mr.  Clay  in  the  National  In 
telligencer,  of  Washington,  April  17,  1844,  within  a  few 
days  after  the  appearance  of  a  letter  by  Mr.  Van  Buren 
in  the  Globe  of  the  same  city.  Both  declared  against  the 
annexation  of  Texas  as  unwise  and  inexpedient,  but  neither 
placed  his  opposition  on  the  ground  of  the  vast  accession 
to  the  slave  power  which  would  result  by  the  incorporat 
ing  of  Texas  within  our  domain.  To  the  southern  slave 
holders  the  acquisition  of  Texas  meant  the  strengthening 
of  the  system  of  slavery  and  the  consolidation  of  its 
forces  for  resistance  against  attack  and  for  aggressive  ad 
vance,  if  need  be,  into  new  territory. 

Even  in  the  quiet  and  peaceful  domestic  circle  of  "The 
Hermitage  "  the  dark  shadow  of  slavery  cast  its  baleful 
gloom.  Mrs.  Andrew  Jackson,  Jr.,  the  wife  of  the  ex- 
President's  adopted  son,  was  a  devoted  Christian  woman, 
desirous  of  teaching  and  training  the  slave  children  on 
the  plantation  and  in  every  possible  way  improving  their 
condition.  The  laws  of  Tennessee  forbade  the  giving  of 

138 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

instruction  to  slaves  or  teaching  their  children  to  read  or 
write.  This  she  felt  to  be  a  cruel  hardship,  and  bitterly 
complained  that  her  hands  were  tied  so  as  to  prevent  her 
from  leading  these  poor  children  along  the  path  of  intelli 
gence  and  education.  She,  of  all  the  women  in  Tennes 
see,  was  bound  to  obey  the  law  which  kept  not  only  her 
slaves  but  herself  in  bondage. 

[Another  interesting  memento  of  this  visit  to  "  The 
Hermitage,"  and  of  the  friendship  existing  between  Gen 
eral  Jackson  and  my  grandfather,  is  a  lock  of  the  former's 
hair  found  amongst  my  father's  papers. 

This  lock  of  straight,  soft,  grey  hair  is  still  in  its  origi 
nal  wrapper  of  brown  paper  inscribed  "  General  Jackson's 
hair,  presented  to  Mr.  Butler  of  New  York.  Hermitage, 
April,  23d,  1844." — ED.] 


139 


CHAPTER  X 

RETURN  TRIP  TO  WASHINGTON — MAMMOTH  CAVE — PRESIDENTIAL  CAM 
PAIGN  OF  1844 — DEFEAT  OF  VAN  BUREN — EXPLOSION  ON  THE  "PRINCE 
TON" — SILAS  WRIGHT — SECRETARYSHIP  OF  WAR  OFFERED  TO  BEN 
JAMIN  F.  BUTLER — HIS  REFUSAL  AND  HIS  RESUMPTION  OF  THE  DISTRICT 
ATTORNEYSHIP  IN  NEW  YORK — GEORGE  BANCROFT. 

BRINGING  our  visit  to  a  close  we  came  by  stage-coach 
to  Nashville,  to  Frankfort  and  Lexington,  stopping 
on  our  way  at  Bell's  Tavern  to  visit  the  Mammoth  Cave, 
six  miles  distant  therefrom.  We  spent  a  day  in  the  cave, 
penetrating  nine  miles  from  the  entrance  and  exploring 
it  in  every  accessible  part.  While  it  is  far  more  impressive 
and  interesting  than  the  famous  cave  of  Adelsberg  in 
Austria,  which  I  visited  some  years  later,  for  some  reason 
it  has  never  attracted  the  public  to  the  extent  of  its  Eu 
ropean  rival.  Bell,  who  kept  the  tavern  where  we  stopped, 
had  never  had  the  curiosity  to  go  to  the  cave.  He  could 
do  that  any  day  and  consequently  had  never  done  it. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  2d  or  3d  of  May  we 
stopped  at  a  little  inland  Pennsylvania  settlement  and 
were  greeted  by  a  crowd,  small  in  numbers  but  greatly  ex 
cited  in  its  enthusiasm  over  the  Whig  nominations  for 
President  and  Vice-President,  which  had  been  made  by 
the  convention  held  in  Baltimore  on  May  i.  There 
were  vociferous  hurrahs  for  Henry  Clay  and  his  asso 
ciate  on  the  ticket  with  whose  long  name,  probably  never 

140 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

heard  of  before,  the  enthusiasts  were  making  the  air 
vocal.  Greatly  surprised,  I  found  it  to  be  that  of  our 
near  neighbor  and  my  venerated  preceptor,  Theodore 
Frelinghuysen,  chancellor  of  the  New  York  University. 
He  was  one  of  the  most  serious-minded,  sober-visaged  and 
decorously-behaved  of  living  men,  and  I  wondered  what 
would  have  been  his  feelings  could  he  have  heard  the  most 
exuberant  and  least  sober  of  his  admirers  announcing 
for  my  information  that  this  "  Fre-lin-guy-sen  is  a  bird 
of  a  fellow!" 

It  was  just  in  the  interval  of  time  between  our  return 
home  from  "  The  Hermitage  "  and  the  assembling  of  the 
National  Democratic  Convention  at  Baltimore  on  May  27, 
1844,  that  the  conspiracy  of  the  Southern  leaders  for  the 
annexation  of  Texas  and  for  the  defeat  of  Mr.  Van  Buren 
for  the  presidential  nomination,  on  the  pretext  of  his  op 
position  to  annexation,  came  to  its  culminating  point. 
Conspirators  work  in  the  dark,  and  it  is  difficult  to  prove 
their  dealings.  In  a  series  of  letters,  written  by  Silas 
Wright,  from  his  seat  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  to  my  fa 
ther  between  May  15  and  June  3,  1844,  under  the  strictest 
seal  of  confidence,  and  which  have  therefore  never  yet  been 
published,  I  have  very  conclusive  and  interesting  evidence 
of  the  development  of  the  plans  to  destroy  Mr.  Van  Buren's 
candidacy,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  a  majority  of  the 
delegates  to  the  convention  had  been  instructed,  and  were 
pledged,  to  vote  for  him. 

The  situation  at  this  time  in  regard  to  Texas  was  the 
result  of  a  long  series  of  intrigues  on  the  part  of  the  South- 
Hi 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

ern  leaders.  Texas  was  a  part  of  Mexico,  but  it  lay  in 
dangerous  proximity  to  the  Southern  States;  and,  although 
slavery  was  prohibited  by  the  Mexican  law,  emigrants 
from  the  United  States  had  poured  into  the  territory  with 
their  slaves,  resisted  the  Mexican  authority,  and  revolted 
against  the  rule  of  Santa  Anna;  then,  after  winning  a 
decisive  victory  under  the  leadership  of  General  Sam 
Houston,  they  had  established  their  independence  as  the 
State  of  Texas  and  had  been  recognized  as  an  inde 
pendent  government  by  the  United  States  in  1837,  an^ 
not  long  afterward  by  England,  France  and  Belgium. 

The  idea  of  annexing  Texas  to  the  United  States  was 
in  the  air  soon  after  the  new  republic  had  been  organized, 
but  public  opinion  at  the  North,  represented  by  both  the 
Whig  and  Democratic  parties,  gave  it  no  favor.  To 
annex  Texas  would  mean  that  a  vast  area  would  be  added 
to  the  slave-holding  South,  but  up  to  1843,  there  was  no 
definite  movement  on  the  part  of  the  slave-holders  of  the 
South  to  bring  the  coveted  domain  within  the  bounds  of 
the  United  States.  On  the  death  of  President  Harrison 
in  April,  1841,  John  Tyler  succeeded  to  the  presidency, 
threw  off  the  allegiance  to  the  Whig  party  by  which  he 
had  been  elected  to  the  second  place  on  the  ticket,  cast 
in  his  lot  with  the  Democrats,  and  made  it  the  chief  ob 
ject  of  his  ambition  to  secure  the  annexation  of  Texas. 
Mr.  Webster,  who  had  openly  declared  his  opposition  to 
the  scheme,  retired  from  the  Cabinet,  in  which  he  had 
filled  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Abel  P.  Upshur,  of  Virginia,  an  ardent  friend  of  an- 

142 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY   YEARS 

nexation,  and  an  earnest  coadjutor  with  Tyler  in  his 
efforts  to  bring  about  the  desired  result. 

On  February  28,  1844,  while  the  President  and  mem 
bers  of  the  Cabinet  were  visiting  the  United  States  man- 
of-war  Princeton,  a  new  gun  called  "The  Peacemaker," 
was  tested,  with  the  result  that  a  terrific  explosion  oc 
curred,  by  which  a  number  of  persons  were  killed,  includ 
ing  the  Secretary  of  State.  Within  a  week  after  this  dis 
tressing  accident,  as  it  would  appear  by  the  evidence  of 
Henry  A.  Wise,  a  leading  Virginia  Democrat,  and  by  his 
persuasion,  the  President  called  into  the  Cabinet,  as  Sec 
retary  of  State,  the  most  extreme  and  rabid  advocate  of 
slavery  and  slavery  extension,  John  C.  Calhoun,  mainly 
for  the  purpose  of  hastening  the  cherished  project  of 
annexation.  Calhoun  acted  with  such  rapidity  that  on 
April  12,  1844,  a  treaty  of  annexation  was  signed  between 
Texas  and  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  on  April 
22  it  was  sent  to  the  Senate.  The  secrecy  and  celerity 
with  which  all  this  had  been  accomplished  had  given  the 
North  no  time  or  opportunity  for  comprehending  the 
nature  of  the  movement.  As  both  Mr.  Clay  and  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  on  grounds  of  broad  statesmanship,  had  declared 
against  the  policy  of  annexation,  the  two  great  political 
parties,  of  which  they  were  the  respective  leaders,  had 
hitherto  stood  aloof  from  a  course  which  threatened  to 
embroil  the  United  States  in  a  war  with  a  friendly  power, 
and  the  Senate  eventually  rejected  the  treaty  by  the 
decisive  vote  of  thirty-five  to  sixteen. 

It  was  while  these  machinations  were  in  progress  and 

H3 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

the  treaty  was  before  the  Senate  that  Mr.  Wright  began 
the  series  of  letters  to  my  father  alluded  to  above.  Mr. 
Wright  was  surrounded  by  Democrats  who  had  come  to 
Washington  on  the  eve  of  the  convention,  and  whose  chief 
aim  was  to  compass  the  defeat  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  as  the 
Democratic  candidate.  Mr.  Wright  had  been  in  the 
Senate  for  eleven  years.  No  man  had  greater  influence 
in  that  body  or  was  more  highly  respected  than  he.  He 
looked  with  the  greatest  alarm  upon  the  project  of  an 
nexing  Texas,  and  his  keen  and  sagacious  foresight  re 
vealed  to  him  the  consequences  which  would  follow  the 
success  of  the  intrigue  going  on  about  him. 

The  real  issue  of  the  presidential  election  of  1844  was 
the  annexation  of  Texas.  Mr.  Polk  had  declared  himself 
unconditionally  in  favor  of  it,  the  South  accepted  his  un 
equivocal  declaration  in  preference  to  the  vacillating  out 
givings  of  Clay,  and  from  the  moment  of  the  unexpected 
nomination  of  Polk  the  result  of  the  presidential  canvass 
was  unquestionable.  Mr.  Clay  had  spoken  against  an 
nexation,  and  although  he  made  two  efforts  to  explain  his 
letters  so  as  to  satisfy  the  slave-holding  element  in  the 
South,  this  only  proved  a  venture,  as  Carl  Schurz  says, 
"upon  that  most  perilous  of  manoeuvres  on  the  political 
as  well  as  the  military  field — a  change  of  front  under  the 
fire  of  the  enemy."  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  his  friends  stood 
by  Polk  at  the  polls. 

To  ensure  united  Democratic  support  in  New  York 
and  to  soothe  the  wounded  feelings  of  the  disappointed 
friends  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  Silas  Wright  was  prevailed 

14-4 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

upon  to  accept  the  nomination  for  governor.  Contrary  to 
his  wishes  and  actuated  solely  by  a  sense  of  duty  to  the 
Democracy  of  the  State  he  led  the  ticket  for  the  gover 
norship  and  carried  the  State  for  Polk  and  Dallas.  The 
office  of  governor  was  distasteful  to  him,  and  he  was  bit 
terly  disappointed  at  the  outcome  of  all  his  services  and 
sacrifices  in  the  interest  of  the  party.  After  serving  out  a 
single  term  as  governor,  and  meeting  defeat  in  his  canvass 
for  re-election,  he  retired  to  his  country  home  at  Canton, 
St.  Lawrence  County,  where  he  died  August  27,  1847. 

After  the  election  of  Polk,  President  Tyler  in  his  last 
annual  message  proclaimed  that  the  verdict  of  the  Ameri 
can  people  at  the  election  in  November  was  in  favor  of 
immediate  annexation,  and,  in  order  to  accomplish  it  as 
the  crowning  act  of  his  administration,  he  used  every  effort 
to  secure  the  result  by  a  joint  resolution  of  Congress,  which, 
after  long  debate  and  several  amendments,  became  a  law 
and  was  signed  by  him  as  President.  It  authorized  him 
to  submit  to  Texas  a  proposition  of  annexation  upon 
condition  that  slavery  should  be  prohibited  in  all  territory 
lying  north  of  36°  30'  north  latitude,  and  acting  on  this 
authority,  in  the  last  days  of  his  term  he  dispatched 
special  envoys  to  Texas.  Tyler  obtained  assent  to  the 
condition,  and  annexation  was  thus  practically  ac 
complished  before  the  President-elect  took  the  oath  of 
office. 

I  think  the  hand  of  Robert  J.  Walker  was  in  all  this. 
A  few  days  after  the  nomination  he  wrote  to  my  father 
from  Washington  referring  to  Mr.  Van  Buren  in  most 

H5 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

exalted  terms  and  saying:  "Now  that  he  is  withdrawn  I 
may  say  to  you  that  the  sense  of  public  duty  which  com 
pelled  me  to  oppose  his  renomination  gave  me  greater 
pain  than  any  preceding  act  of  my  life."  I  suppose  that 
no  more  repugnant  tax  can  be  levied  upon  human  credulity 
than  when  a  politician  asks  his  former  associates,  whom 
he  has  deserted  and  betrayed,  to  believe  that  it  was  at  the 
call  of  duty.  Probably  the  same  high  sense  of  duty  re 
quired  him  to  advise  Mr.  Polk  to  put  off  New  York  with 
an  offer  of  a  place  in  the  Cabinet  which  could  hardly  fail 
to  be  declined.  In  a  letter  to  my  father  dated  November 
25,  1845,  Mr.  "Polk  writes:  "The  vote  of  New  York  was 
indispensable  to  our  success.  With  her  vote  we  could 
have  lost  several  of  the  smaller  States  and  still  have  car 
ried  the  election;  but  without  her  vote  we  must  have  been 
defeated.  .  .  .  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  his  friends,  I  am 
fully  satisfied,  have  acted  a  magnanimous  and  noble 
part."  With  these  assurances  it  was  not  unreasonable 
that  those  to  whom  they  were  addressed  should  have  sup 
posed  that  the  chief  place  in  the  Cabinet  of  the  newly- 
elected  President  would  go  to  New  York.  But  after  he 
reached  Washington  he  wrote  my  father  again  under 
date  of  February  25,  1845,  as  follows:  "For  reasons 
which  are  satisfactory  to  myself  I  have  determined  to 
look  to  the  State  of  New  York  for  my  Secretary  of  War. 
Among  all  her  eminent  citizens  I  have  selected  yourself  in 
preference  to  any  other  for  that  office  and  now  tender  it 
to  you."  Following  this  with  the  warmest  expressions 
of  regard,  he  said,  among  other  things,  "I  most  sincerely 

146 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

hope  that  you  will  not  hesitate  to  accept  this  office," 
and  signed  himself,  "Most  sincerely  your  friend." 

My  father  promptly  declined  the  President's  offer,  al 
though  urged  by  some  of  the  other  close  friends  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren  to  accept  it  in  order  to  avoid  the  risk  of  Mr. 
Polk's  giving  the  place  to  one  of  the  leaders  of  a  portion 
of  the  New  York  Democracy,  who  had  grown  jealous  of 
the  ascendency  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  his  friends  in  the 
Democratic  party  and  were  now  working  in  hostility  to 
them.  Prominent  among  these  disaffected  Democrats 
was  William  L.  Marcy,  a  former  Supreme  Court  judge 
and  governor  of  New  York,  for  many  years  closely  allied 
with  Mr.  Van  Buren,  and  the  author,  while  in  Congress, 
of  the  familiar  phrase,  "  To  the  victor  belong  the  spoils 
of  the  enemy."  To  the  younger  men  around  Mr.  Van 
Buren  it  seemed  indispensable  that  his  interests,  which 
they  deemed  identical  with  those  of  the  party  in  New 
York,  should  have  a  representative  in  the  Cabinet.  Sam 
uel  J.  Tilden,  who  was  one  of  these,  went  to  Washington 
to  confer  with  Mr.  Polk,  and,  if  possible,  avert  the  appre 
hended  danger  of  his  selecting  a  member  of  the  Cabinet 
from  the  wrong  wing  of  the  party.  In  a  long  letter  writ 
ten  from  Washington,  March  i,  1845,  Mr.  Tilden  gave  a 
graphic  description  of  his  interview  with  Mr.  Polk  and 
of  the  latter's  warm  expressions  of  friendship  for  my 
father  and  of  regret  at  his  declining  to  become  a  member 
of  the  Cabinet;  but  evidently  the  result  of  the  interview 
did  not  encourage  him  to  hope  that  anything,  beyond  the 
offer  then  made,  would  be  done  in  the  way  of  satisfying  the 

*47 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

expectations  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  his  friends.  In  fact, 
Mr.  Tilden  had  hardly  returned  to  New  York  from  his 
fruitless  mission  when  we  heard  that  Governor  Marcy 
was  on  his  way  to  Washington  to  take  the  place  of  Secre 
tary  of  War  in  the  new  Cabinet.  From  the  circumstances 
I  have  thus  related,  I  think  it  was  always  supposed  by 
the  immediate  friends  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  that  Mr.  Folk's 
course  in  the  matter  was  treacherous;  that  the  offer  he 
made  to  my  father  was  with  the  full  expectation  that  it 
would  be  refused ;  that  his  turning  away  from  New  York 
for  a  Secretary  of  State,  and  giving  that  office  to  James 
Buchanan  of  Pennsylvania,  was  to  strengthen  his  alliance 
with  that  portion  of  the  party  which  was  represented  by 
Robert  J.  Walker,  whom  he  made  Secretary  of  the  Treas 
ury,  as  well  as  to  rid  himself  of  his  obligations  to  his 
political  supporters  in  New  York. 

While  I  think  Mr.  Polk,  in  the  course  he  pursued  tow 
ard  New  York,  was  greatly  blamable,  I  cannot  regard 
his  professions  of  friendship  to  my  father  as  wholly  in 
sincere.  The  latter  was  the  one  man  whom  the  President 
wanted  in  his  Cabinet  from  New  York.  He  told  Mr.  Til- 
den,  in  the  letter  to  which  I  have  referred,  that  he  regarded 
the  Texas  question  as  settled,  Congress  having  brought 
that  State  into  the  Union,  and  he  was  sanguine  that  his 
administration  would  deserve  the  confidence  and  support 
of  the  Democracy  of  New  York.  But  he  yielded  at  the 
very  outset  to  the  demand  of  that  portion  of  the  party 
which  had  elected  him  and  which  the  slave  power  was 
gradually  enfolding  in  its  fatal  grasp.  That  the  Presi- 

148 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

dent's  regard  for  my  father  continued,  notwithstanding 
his  refusal  to  enter  the  Cabinet,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
in  the  early  days  of  March,  1845,  ne  asked  him  to  resume 
the  office  of  United  States  District  Attorney  in  New 
York.  This  my  father  did. 

The  appointment  of  George  Bancroft,  the  historian,  as 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  was  intended  by  Mr.  Polk  as  evi 
dence  of  his  continued  friendship  with  the  immediate  sup 
porters  of  Mr.  Van  Buren.  Bancroft  had  made  a  gal 
lant  though  unsuccessful  struggle  for  the  governorship 
of  Massachusetts.  He  had  no  special  qualifications  for 
the  office  he  was  called  upon  to  fill  in  Washington,  but  as 
he  was  impulsive  and  sanguine  in  temperament,  and 
quite  anxious  for  political  distinction,  he  did  not  hesitate 
to  enter  into  close  relations  with  Mr.  Polk,  and  he  favored 
a  plan,  which  received  some  support  from  Mr.  Van 
Buren's  friends,  that  the  ex-President  should  go  as  Min 
ister  to  England,  which  Mr.  Polk  thought  would  be  a 
very  desirable  thing.  Mr.  Bancroft  wrote  my  father,  "It 
is  really  a  matter  of  public  moment  (and  I  think  private 
comfort)  for  Mr.  Van  Buren  to  go  to  England.  I  do  not 
think  we  are  in  great  danger  of  a  war  but  Mr.  V.  B.'s 
j  resence  would  indicate  the  love  of  peace.  By  going  he 
makes  himself  a  public  benefactor."  Mr.  Van  Buren 
thought  otherwise  and  the  plan  fell  through.  The  mission 
to  England,  afterward,  came  to  Mr.  Bancroft  himself, 
ar,d  I  think  he  found  it  a  source  of  much  private  comfort 
as  it  was  of  public  benefit  and  a  happy  deliverance  from 
the  routine  work  of  the  Navy  Department. 

149 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

I  have  devoted  much  space,  perhaps  too  much,  to  the 
history  of  the  intrigues  connected  with  the  schemes  of 
the  Southern  leaders  for  the  defeat  of  Mr.  Van  Buren 
and  the  annexation  of  Texas.  I  have  thought,  however, 
that  this  chapter  of  our  political  history,  from  fresh  and 
undoubted  sources,  would  not  be  without  a  special  in 
terest  of  its  own,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  this 
successful  plot,  with  its  inevitable  consequence  of  the  war 
with  Mexico  and  the  acquisition  of  the  new  Territories, 
gained  as  the  fruit  of  our  victories,  became  the  chief 
means  of  the  final  overthrow  and  destruction  of  slavery 
and  the  slave  power. 


CHAPTER  XI 

ADMISSION  TO  THE  BAR — VOYAGE  TO  EUROPE — "THE  WANDERER" — 
ENTERTAINED  AT  CAEN — PARIS  OF  1846 — "VAUCLUSE" — THE  YOUNG 
ENGLISHMAN  AND  THE  QUEEN'S  ENGLISH — TRIP  TO  GENOA  AND  NAPLES 
— ASCENT  OF  VESUVIUS — HOTEL  AT  POMPEII — THE  LANDLORD'S  ENG 
LISH — TRIP  TO  SICILY — ROME — POPE  PIUS  LX — LEPRl's  RESORT  OF 
AMERICANS — POWERS'S  "GREEK  SLAVE" — TITIAN'S  "ASSUMPTION" — 
FLORENCE — VENICE — LETTER  HOME — BERLIN — BARON  VON  HUMBOLDT. 

I  WAS  admitted  to  the  bar  July  10,  1846,  at  a  sitting  of 
the  Supreme  Court  in  Utica.  As  the  Constitution  of 
the  State  then  stood  I  could  be  licensed  only  as  an  "at 
torney,"  the  degree  of  "Counsellor-at-Law"  requiring 
three  years'  previous  service  as  attorney.  But  by  an 
amendment  made  by  the  Convention  of  1846  the  distinc 
tion  between  attorneys  and  counsellors  was  abolished 
and  a  single  examination  and  license  sufficed  for  the  ac 
quirement  of  both  titles. 

On  July  1 6,  I  sailed  for  Europe  in  the  packet-ship 
Havre,  for  the  port  of  that  name,  Captain  Ainsworth  in 
command,  to  be  absent  a  year  and  five  months.  This 
European  trip  was  the  result  of  the  kind  and  persistent 
persuasion  of  my  classmate  and  close  friend,  George  L. 
Duyckinck,  who  wished  to  carry  out  a  long-cherished  plan 
of  European  travel,  which  he  declared  he  would  not  exe 
cute  without  my  companionship.  Yielding  to  this  friendly 
compulsion,  I  occupied  the  interval  between  the  end  of 
my  clerkship  in  my  father's  office  and  the  beginning  of 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

my  practice  as  an  attorney,  in  what  was  for  those  days 
a  very  extended  tour  in  Europe.  Captain  Ainsworth  de 
clared  the  Havre  to  be  the  fastest  sailing-sloop  in  the 
world.  She  had  made  the  trip  from  New  York  to  Havre 
in  fourteen  days  and  twelve  hours,  and  with  a  good  breeze 
had  sailed  in  a  single  day  three  hundred  and  eight  miles. 
She  could  make  twelve  or  thirteen  knots  an  hour.  Our 
midsummer  trip  was  not,  however,  a  record-breaker,  and 
our  passage  consumed  twenty-four  days. 

The  zest  of  travel  belongs  especially  to  youth.  Shake 
speare  says  "Home-keeping  youth  have  ever  homely  wits," 
and  certainly  nothing  so  broadens  the  mind  or  expands 
the  intellect  as  intelligent  observation  of  men  and  things 
the  world  over.  To  turn  a  studious,  thoughtful  and  ob 
serving  young  man  into  a  traveler  is  to  furnish  him  the  in 
formation  of  an  encyclopaedia  without  the  need  of  scanning 
any  pages  except  those  of  his  guide-book.  Every  faculty 
of  his  being  comes  to  his  aid,  the  will,  the  imagination,  the 
courage  that  defies  danger,  the  perseverance  that  insures 
success,  and  the  satisfaction  of  rest  after  toil;  and  even 
though  the  eye  is  not  satisfied  with  seeing  and  the  ear 
with  hearing,  the  uses  and  memories  of  travel  are  among 
the  best  possessions  of  later  life.  How  often,  in  those  re 
mote  days,  before  Europe  became  a  network  of  railroads, 
youthful  wanderers,  crossing  on  foot  some  mountain  pass 
with  knapsack  on  back  and  alpenstock  in  hand,  stepped 
aside  while  the  lumbering  diligence,  overcrowded  by  com 
monplace  passengers,  passed  them  on  its  creaking  way; 
or  the  well-appointed  traveling  carriage  dashed  by — pos- 

152 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

tilions  cracking  their  whips,  my  lord  and  lady  lolling 
inside,  and  the  all-important  courier  and  scarcely  less  im 
portant  lady's-maid  in  the  rumble — all  casting  looks  of 
pity,  perhaps  of  scorn,  on  the  pedestrians.  At  the  end 
of  the  day's  journey,  however,  when  our  belated  pedes 
trians  trudged  into  the  inn,  where  the  occupants  of  the 
lumbering  diligence  and  the  well-appointed  travelling  car 
riage  were  either  finishing  the  evening  meal  at  the  table 
d'hote  or  monopolizing  all  the  possibilities  of  luxury  the 
hostelry  could  furnish,  they  satisfied  their  appetites  with 
a  keener  relish  and  enjoyed  their  night's  rest  with  a 
sounder  sleep  than  all  the  others. 

[Not  only  to  my  father's  youth  did  this  zest  of  travel 
belong,  but  to  every  period  of  his  life.  All  journeyings, 
whether  brief  or  lengthy,  brought  him  keen  enjoyment, 
making  it  a  delight  to  travel  with  him. 

A  little  poem  written  about  this  time  is  as  indicative 
of  his  feelings  in  later  life  as  of  his  earlier  sensations. — ED.] 

THE  WANDERER 

O  rare  delight  of  seeing, 

O  joy  unchecked  of  being 
Abroad  and  free,  in  this  wide  world  of  ours! 

Such  pleasure  the  birds  have, 

Winging  o'er  wood  and  wave, 
O'er  meadows  bright  with  dew,  bright  with  perpetual  flowers. 

Still  fares  the  wanderer  forth, 

And  still  the  exhaustless  Earth 
With  all  her  treasures  greets  her  wayward  child; 

For  him,  on  all  her  shores, 

She  spreads  her  countless  stores, 
In  sunlit  beauty  strewn,  or  solemn  grandeur  piled. 


WILLIAM   ALLEN   BUTLER 

The  plain  at  early  light; 

At  noon,  the  mountain  height; 
At  eve,  the  valley,  with  its  shadows  deep; 

At  night,  the  cataract, 

Or  ocean's  boundless  tract, 
With  ceaseless  rush  of  waves,  or  murmurs  soft  as  sleep. 

To-day,  the  crowded  mart, 

The  sacred  shrines  of  art, 
The  domes  of  empire,  the  cathedral  vast; 

To-morrow,  the  wild  woods, 

Or  desert  solitudes, 
With  shattered  temples  strewn  and  fragments  of  the  past. 

Tempt  not  my  feet  to  stay; 

Along  the  upward  way, 
Across  the  earth,  across  the  sparkling  sea, 

Beyond  the  distant  isles, 

The  far  horizon  smiles, 
And  where  its  voices  call,  thither  my  steps  must  be! 

On  our  embarkation  from  New  York,  my  friend, 
Theodore  Sedgwick,  an  eminent  son  of  the  eminent  jurist 
of  that  name,  introduced  me  on  the  deck  of  the  Havre 
to  a  French  lady,  who  had  been  passing  some  time  in  the 
United  States  and  was  returning  to  her  home  in  Caen,  an 
ancient  city  of  Normandy,  the  burial  place  of  William  the 
Conqueror.  She  was  the  sister  of  the  Procureur  du  Roi, 
of  the  Department  of  Calvados,  and  was  a  most  intelligent 
traveling  companion.  Before  we  reached  Havre  she  had 
engaged  us  to  visit  her  family,  at  her  home.  Accordingly, 
soon  after  our  arrival,  we  found  ourselves  enjoying  the 
hospitality  of  Caen  on  a  most  liberal  scale. 

It  was  a  piece  of  rare  good  fortune  that  immediately 

154 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

after  setting  foot  on  the  soil  of  France  we  had  the  oppor 
tunity  of  being  welcomed  into  the  home  circle  of  a  charm 
ing  provincial  family  that  was  a  center  of  influence.  We 
found  that  the  Procureur,  who  devoted  himself  to  us  and 
showed  us  the  public  institutions  of  Caen,  was  everywhere 
received  with  visible  tokens  of  respect.  After  spending 
two  delightful  days  in  the  old  city,  supplemented  by  some 
walks  in  Normandy  and  a  visit  to  Mont  San  Michel,  we 
made  our  way  to  Paris. 

The  Paris  of  1846,  in  the  sober  reign  of  Louis  Philippe, 
"King  of  the  French,'*  as  he  styled  himself,  although  not 
what  it  became  under  the  Second  Empire  and  the  recon 
structive  sway  of  Baron  Haussmann,  was,  nevertheless, 
in  grandeur  and  gayety,  the  capital  of  the  world.  All 
the  old  historic  landmarks  were  still  there;  the  treasures 
of  art  in  the  galleries  of  the  Louvre,  and  the  incompar 
able  facade  of  the  Tuileries  with  all  its  souvenirs  of  royalty. 
At  one  of  the  tower  windows  of  this  palace  I  saw  the  little 
Comte  de  Paris  held  up  for  the  admiring  gaze  of  the  out 
side  public  when  he  was  only  a  few  months  old,  the  pre 
sumptive  heir  of  the  throne  of  France,  which  he  was  des 
tined  never  to  gain. 

In  Paris  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  Theodore  Met- 
calf,  of  Boston,  a  son  of  Judge  Theron  Metcalf,  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Massachusetts.  Being  like  Duyckinck 
and  myself  foot-free  as  a  traveler,  he  cast  in  his  lot  with 
us,  and  we  formed  a  party  just  filling  the  coupe  of  the 
diligence,  the  most  desirable  compartment  of  that  lumber 
ing  public  conveyance. 

155 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

We  traversed  southern  France,  lingering  at  Vaucluse, 
Rheims,  Aries,  Avignon,  and  Marseilles;  and  going  thence 
by  steamer  to  Toulon,  made  our  way  along  the  Cornici 
road  between  the  mountains  and  the  sea  to  Genoa. 

[During  this  foreign  tour  my  father  wrote  a  series  of 
letters,  still  extant,  to  different  members  of  his  family  at 
home.  These  letters,  combined  with  his  note-books,  would 
of  themselves  form  a  volume  of  no  small  size  and  of  no 
little  interest. 

There  is  in  them  not  only  the  buoyancy  of  youth,  but 
the  philosophy  of  a  mind  unusually  mature.  Touched  also 
with  a  merry  wit,  they  produced  a  result  eagerly  antici 
pated  by  those  to  whom  they  were  addressed. 

The  temptation  to  introduce  extended  extracts  from 
these  letters  into  the  brief  sketch  of  his  trip  as  found  in 
these  reminiscences  has  been  almost  irresistible.  As, 
however,  this  might  give  undue  prominence  to  a  mere  epi 
sode  of  travel,  only  a  few  notes  have  been  selected,  bear 
ing  upon  those  moments  when  enthusiasm  found  expres 
sion  in  "simple  strains  where  truth  and  passion  meet," 
even  as  he  described  in  these  words  the  "melodious 
breathings"  of  his  then  favorite  poet  Uhland.1 

At  Vaucluse  the  combined  charm  of  scenic  beauty 
and  literary  association  inspired  this  sonnet. — ED.] 

VAUCLUSE 

Less  because  Petrarch  and  his  Muse  have  made 
These  hills  and  streams  immortal  as  his  fame, 
Linked  in  melodious  verse  with  Laura's  name, 

Than  for  thy  sake,  O  Nature!  have  I  strayed 

To  this  wild  region.     In  the  rocky  glade, 

Deep  at  the  mountain's  base,  the  fountains  keep 
Their  ceaseless  gushing,  till  the  waters  leap 

'See  "Uhland"  in  "Nothing  to  Wear  and  Other  Poems,"  edition  of  1899, 
p.  169. 

156 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

A  mighty  torrent  from  the  endless  shade; 
A  moment  linger  there  in  glassy  rest, 
Break  on  the  craggy  steep  with  foaming  crest, 

Then  thunder  through  the  chasm,  swift  and  strong! 
So  burst  the  Poet's  passion  from  his  breast, 

Noiseless  and  deep  and  pure,  to  flood  erelong 

The  listening  tracts  of  Time  with  ceaseless  tides  of  song! 

Railroads  being  unknown,  this  splendid  highway  skirt 
ing  the  northern  shore  of  the  Mediterranean,  of  all  routes 
of  travel  in  Europe  perhaps  the  most  desirable,  was  the 
favorite  for  making  the  journey  from  France  to  Italy.  It 
avoided  the  mountain  passes  and  secured  for  the  tourist 
a  wonderful  variety  of  the  most  picturesque  scenery. 
On  our  way  we  fell  in  with  many  travelers  pursuing  the 
same  route.  Among  these  we  encountered  the  equipage 
of  a  certain  lord  lieutenant  of  one  of  the  counties  of 
England,  Sir  William  Frazier  by  name,  with  whose  prog 
ress  we  became  quite  familiar.  When  we  reached  Genoa 
a  young  Englishman  with  high  social  connections,  who 
was  stopping  at  our  hotel,  attached  himself  to  our  party, 
never  dreaming  that  we  were  other  than  true-born  Britons, 
and  confided  to  us  his  plans,  among  them  an  intended 
visit  to  the  Nile,  where  he  had  heard  there  was  good  shoot 
ing.  Metcalf  with  great  gravity  cautioned  him  against 
shooting  an  ibis,  which,  he  told  him,  was  the  sacred  bird 
of  Egypt.  The  young  man  was  very  grateful  for  the  in 
formation,  and,  following  Captain  Cuttle's  advice,  made  a 
note  of  it. 

While  we  were  all  at  dinner  one  day  a  letter  was 
brought  in  to  our  young  friend,  which  he  opened  and 

157 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

read.  He  then  informed  us  that  it  was  from  Sir  William 
Frazier  inviting  him  to  accompany  Sir  William  to  Rome 
in  his  carriage.  He  excused  himself,  and  went  into  an 
adjoining  room  to  write  an  acceptance  of  the  invitation. 
Some  weeks  later  an  English  friend  of  ours,  Mr.  Turbett, 
who  happened  to  be  with  Sir  William  when  the  acceptance 
was  received,  gave  us  the  text  of  it  verbatim  et  literatim,  as 
follows : 

"The  Hon presents  his  compliments  to  Sir 

William  Frazier  and  as  I  am  going  to  Rome  he  will  be 
very  happy  to  take  a  seat  in  your  carriage/' 

Thus  did  the  Queen's  English  suffer  at  the  hands  of 
one  of  her  titled  subjects. 

Keeping  to  the  coast,  with  a  detour  to  Pisa,  we  made 
our  way  to  Leghorn  and  there  embarked  in  the  little  Italian 
steamer  Vlrgilio  for  Naples.  This  should  have  been  a 
short  voyage,  broken  only  by  touching  at  Civita  Vecchia, 
the  port  of  Rome,  but  we  encountered  a  storm  which 
drove  us  out  to  sea.  On  regaining  the  coast  the  cap 
tain  was  compelled  to  put  into  a  small  bay,  which  proved 
a  place  of  refuge  in  which  to  ride  out  the  storm.  After 
this,  on  reaching  Civita  Vecchia,  we  concluded  to  make  a 
long  stay,  so  that  we  did  not  reach  Naples  until  the  fourth 
day  after  leaving  Leghorn. 

We  lingered  at  Naples  to  make  excursions  to  all  the 
places  of  interest  on  the  shores  of  the  bay.  We  made  a 
long  day's  exploration  of  the  classic  region  which  em 
braces  the  villas  of  Cicero  and  Lucullus,  the  Lucrine  Lake, 
and  the  Elysian  Fields,  as  well  as  the  ruins  of  Puteoli, 

"58 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

said  to  be  the  most  ancient  town  in  Italy.  On  our  home 
ward  way  we  had  a  wonderful  view  of  Vesuvius.  The 
smoke  rose  in  a  huge  column  straight  into  the  sky;  not  a 
cloud  near  it.  Turbett,  our  English  friend,  proposed,  half 
seriously,  a  night  excursion  to  the  top  to  see  the  sunrise. 
I  was  ready  for  anything  of  the  sort,  though  nobody  else 
was;  so  Turbett  and  I  agreed  to  go,  and  did  go,  and  the 
night  we  made  of  it  was  more  wonderful  to  me  than  any 
of  the  Thousand  and  One. 

After  dinner  we  made  our  preparations  and  left  Naples 
at  half  past-eight  o'clock  in  the  evening.  I  had  just  re 
ceived  letters  by  the  Great  Western,  and  these  had  quite 
recruited  me  after  our  hard  day's  work.  At  Portici  we 
roused  a  guide,  mounted  our  ponies,  and  by  eleven  o'clock 
had  reached  the  Hermitage  after  a  pleasant  moonlight 
ride.  On  our  way  up  we  saw  that  there  was  an  unusual 
amount  of  flame  puffing  out  of  the  crater — a  steady  stream, 
instead  of  the  occasional  burst  we  had  been  accustomed  to 
see.  At  the  Hermitage  we  found  no  sign  of  a  hermit,  but 
a  couple  of  soldiers  stationed  there  to  guard,  not  against 
eruptions,  but  against  improper  persons.  A  shabby  fel 
low  in  charge  could  give  us  no  accommodations  beyond  a 
settee  apiece  in  a  very  cold  room.  Our  plan  was  to  sleep 
at  the  Hermitage  till  five  o'clock  and  then  ascend  for  the 
sunrise.  My  friend  Turbett  managed  to  get  some  sleep, 
I  hardly  any — fortunately,  for  otherwise  we  should  not 
have  accomplished  our  purpose,  the  guide  being  fast  asleep 
when  five  o'clock  came,  and  nobody  but  myself  awake. 

We  started  at  once,  leaving  the  horses  at  the  Her- 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

mitage.  But  it  was  a  long,  rough  walk  to  the  foot  of  the 
summit,  and  quite  exhausting.  I  found  our  previous  day's 
journey  and  want  of  sleep  a  bad  preparation  for  the  tre 
mendous  climb  before  us.  and  when  quarter  of  the  way 
up  I  felt  as  if  I  should  nr\  rr  see  the  top.  I  realized  what 
"thorough  exhaustion  ':it;  but  after  a  little  rest,  and 

the  assistance  of  an  ; >;  <»rtune  brandy  flask,  I  managed 
to  recover  and  in  about  an  hour  and  a  half  we  got  well 
up  to  the  top.  It  v.  '  dark,  except  for  the  moon 

shine,  and  when  :ned  the  summit  the  view  that 

broke  upon  us  was  stupendous.  The  steady  blaze  was  ac 
counted  for;  there  had  been  an  eruption  and  the  new  lava, 
a  tremendous  streaW^f^^wttSty'br  thirty  feet  broad, 

nJo  -tit  firwofl  ,iz8ii)uo<.lB  b^nifiOji^U*^!  '•  <""vl 

was  rolling  from1  tWeJ^^tw£/M^0he  names  came  out 
at  the  top,  the  lava  issued  from  below)  across  the  scorched 
plains  to  the  edge  of  the  mountain.  To  call  it  a  stream  of 
fire  as  near  th<  lity  as  possible,  but  it  must  not 

be  hat  it  i  fast  as  water.     It  rolled 

along  very  m  >f  mud  would  do;    at 

the  rate,  as  i  -ring  its  course  with  sta 

tionary  objects,  of  from  two  to  three  miles  an  hour,  in 
some  places  faster,  in  others  slower,  as  the  channel  was 
unobstructed  or  otherwise.  The  part  of  the  area  in  which 
we  had  stood  when  previously  on  the  mountain  was  cov 
ered  entirely  by  the  stn  and  it  was  almost  impossi 
ble  to  approach  anywhen  near  it  by  reason  of  the  extreme 
heat.  We  mounted  to  om-  of  the  ridges,  and  sat  there 
looking  at  the  torrent  winding  its  way  slowly  along,  as  we 
waited  for  the  sun  to  rise. 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

In  the  mean  time  the  views  all  around  were  most 
superb,  and  I  hardly  knew  where  most  to  fix  my  eyes, 
whether  on  the  bright  plains  and  sea  and  islands  below, 
or  on  the  mountain  itself,  or  on  the  hills  over  which  the  sun 
was  making  his  way.  After  the  sunrise,  which  was  fine, 
though  somewhat  obscured  by  clouds,  we  told  the  guide 
to  take  us  across  the  lava,  and  said  that  we  would  mount 
to  the  top  of  the  cone  itself;  for  we  had  been  watching 
the  showers  and  perceived  that  on  one  side  of  the  cone 
the  stones  never  fell.  He  led  the  way  and  we  followed. 
It  was  like  walking  over  plates  of  burning  iron,  though 
we  went  far  out  of  the  way  of  the  stream.  Although 
I  wore  cork  soles  there  were  some  places  where  my  feet 
could  hardly  endure  the  heat.  In  every  crevice  under 
our  path  the  blaze  was  perfectly  bright  and  the  atmos 
phere  all  around  like  that  in  a  furnace.  It  was  worse 
around  the  fountain-head  of  the  lava.  At  the  foot  of 
the  cone  there  was  a  vapor  bath  of  sulphur  such  as  I 
hope  never  to  have  to  take  again.  The  whole  air  was 
Tartarean.  It  penetrated  into  one's  lungs  and  almost 
stopped  the  breath.  All  we  could  do  was  to  stuff  our 
handkerchiefs  into  our  mouths  and  call  to  the  guide  to 
run.  I  can  not  tell  how  rejoiced  I  was  to  get  out  of  this 
pestilential  region. 

At  the  foot  of  the  cone  we  waited  for  a  shower  and 
then  in  the  interval  climbed  up.  It  was  like  going  up 
a  hill  of  writing-sand,1  an  all-fours  proceeding  and  a 
very  severe  one,  but  at  last  we  stood  on  the  highest  point. 

1  Alluding  to  the  fine  dark  sand  which  preceded  the  use  of  blotting-paper. — ED. 

161 


WILLIAM   ALLEN   BUTLER 

Nothing  very  important  was  to  be  seen.  A  shelf  pro 
jecting  over  the  crater  on  the  inside  prevented  a  view  into 
the  interior  and  the  thick  column  of  smoke  wrapped  every 
thing  in  continual  obscurity.  I  pitched  a  piece  of  lava 
into  the  crater,  and  watched  its  downward  course  until 
it  disappeared  in  the  smoke.  Then  we  went  down  the 
cone  at  full  speed.  The  guide  told  us  to  hurry,  for  the 
lava  was  making  its  way  down  to  the  path;  so  we  ran 
on,  halting  in  front  of  the  stream  for  a  minute  or  two, 
to  watch  it  as  it  came  tumbling  and  rolling,  slowly  and 
surely,  in  a  straight  course  for  the  very  path  by  which 
we  ascended.  Then  we  slipped  and  slid  down  the  steep 
side,  joined  the  horses,  and  had  a  glorious  gallop  down  to 
the  plain.  I  was  thankful  to  have  accomplished  the  trip 
in  safety  and  to  have  seen  this  sight,  the  most  wonderful 
I  ever  saw  or  expect  to  see. 

On  our  way  up  we  had  met  a  man,  an  Englishman, 
who  was  being  carried  in  a  chair  to  Patrici.  We  found 
afterward  that  he  had  broken  his  leg  on  the  mountain. 
All  the  " labors,  dangers,  and  suffering"  we  had  under 
gone—and  I  have  not  expanded  on  these  as  much  as 
I  might — left  us  with  no  injurious  effects.  We  joined 
Duyckinck  and  Metcalf  at  Patrici,  and  the  same  day 
went  to  Sorrento  and  then  crossed  to  Capri.  Returning 
to  Naples  the  next  evening,  we  saw  the  side  of  Vesuvius 
covered  with  the  still  blazing  stream  of  lava. 

On  one  of  our  excursions  outside  the  entrance  to 
Pompeii  I  made  a  transcript  of  the  following  advertise 
ment  of  a  newly  established  hotel.  I  presume  it  has 

162 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

found  its  way  into  print  before  this  and  been  passed  on  to 
fame  by  other  tourists,  but  I  want  to  do  my  share  in  giv 
ing  it  immortality  as  a  specimen  of  "English  as  she  was 
wrote"  at  the  gate  of  Pompeii  in  1847: 

"Restoration  Hotel.     Fine  Hok. 

Kept  by  Frank  Prosierpi 
Facing  the  Military  Quarter 
At  Pompeii. 

'That  Hotel  open  since  a  very  few  days  is  renowned  for 
the  cleanness  of  the  apartments;  for  the  exactness  of  the 
service,  and  for  the  excellence  of  the  true  french  cookery. 
Being  situated  at  proximity  of  that  regeneration  it  will  be 
propitious  to  receive  families,  whatever  which  will  desire 
to  reside  alternatively  into  that  town  to  visit  the  monu 
ments  new  found  and  to  breath  thither  the  salubrity  of 
the  air. 

:'That  establishment  will  avoid  to  all  the  travelers,  vis 
itors  of  that  sepult  city  and  to  the  artists  (willing  draw 
the  antiquities)  a  great  disorder  occasioned  by  the  tardy, 
and  expensive  contour  of  the  iron-whay — People  will  find 
equality  thither  a  complete  sortment  of  stranger  wines 
and  of  the  King-Dom,  hot  and  cold  baths  stable  and 
coach  house,  the  whole  with  very  moderate  price. 

"Now  all  the  applications  and  endeavors  of  the  hoste, 
will  tend  always  to  correspond  to  the  tastes  and  desires 
of  their  customers,  which  will  acquire  without  doubt,  to 
him,  into  that  town  the  reputation  whom  he  is  am 
bitious." 

163 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

A  novel  and  adventurous,  perhaps  foolhardy,  bit  of 
travel  was  our  tour  through  the  Island  of  Sicily,  crossing 
the  interior  from  Palermo  to  the  sea  and  thence  by  Catania 
and  ^Etna  coastwise  to  Messina.  Our  object  was  to  see 
the  ruins  of  Segeste,  Selinunte,  Girgenti  and  Taormina. 
With  a  trustworthy  guide,  a  muleteer  and  a  small  boy, 
our  party  of  four,  Turbett  having  kept  with  us,  made  a 
respectable  caravan.  We  made  our  way,  day  after  day, 
over  mountain  passes,  through  rough  bridle-paths  and 
long  stretches  of  scenery,  stopping  at  forlorn  and  filthy 
hostelries,  fording  swollen  rivers,  at  the  brink  of  one  of 
which  we  were  brought  to  a  stand-still  and  compelled  to 
take  refuge  in  the  barn-loft  of  a  farmer,  who  gave  us 
shelter  for  the  night  and  where  perhaps  we  were  in 
greater  danger  than  we  thought.  Not  so  much,  however, 
as  when  we  undertook  to  cross  the  river,  swollen  and 
rapid,  two  men  holding  each  mule  to  prevent  its  footing 
being  swept  away  by  the  waters.  Fortunately  we  all 
crossed  in  safety. 

The  ruins  of  Sicily,  especially  those  of  the  ancient 
Grecian  temples  of  Girgenti,  are  magnificent,  but  the 
island  of  Sicily,  when  we  traversed  it,  was  a  deplorable 
and  disheartening  sight,  apparently  as  far  behind  in  all 
the  arts  of  civilization  as  when  the  Saracens  and  the  Nor 
mans  held  it  under  control.  One  memorable  morning  in 
the  early  sunlight,  as  I  rode  on,  somewhat  in  advance  of 
my  companions,  a  turn  in  the  road  brought  me  in  full  view 
of  Mount  ^Etna,  a  snowy  mass  rising  above  the  plain  and 
of  such  gigantic  bulk  as  to  dwarf  the  memory  of  Vesuvius 

164 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

into  insignificance.  It  was  one  of  the  grandest,  most 
awe-inspiring  of  spectacles,  losing  none  of  its  impressive- 
ness  in  the  many  views  we  had  of  it  afterward,  in  ascending 
as  far  up  as  we  were  able  to  go  on  the  only  possible  path 
way.  Never  were  tired  travelers  more  rejoiced  to  find  a 
resting-place  than  was  our  worn-out  party  when,  at  the 
end  of  our  fourteenth  day  of  rough  riding,  we  reached  and 
were  able  to  enjoy  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  one  of  the 
most  charming  hotels  we  had  found  in  Europe.  It  was 
kept  by  Signer  Abbate.  Poor  Abbate!  He  met  with  a 
sad  fate.  In  1848  the  revolutionary  days  came  on,  and 
there  was  uprising  and  firing  in  the  streets  of  Catania,  as 
in  other  cities  in  Europe.  Impelled  by  curiosity,  our 
worthy  host  went  around  the  corner  from  his  hotel,  and  a 
bullet,  either  by  chance  or  design,  ended  his  beneficent  life. 
Nothing  became  our  visit  to  Sicily  so  well  as  the  ending 
of  it.  We  found  that  a  steamer  for  Naples  was  to  leave 
Messina  early  on  a  mid-week  morning  and  we  timed  our 
arrival  on  the  evening  before  its  departure.  Reaching 
the  hotel  we  notified  the  proprietor  of  our  intention  to 
sail  the  next  morning  for  Naples  and  were  met  by  a 
look  of  astonishment  and  an  emphatic  "  Im-pos-si-bi-le." 
"Why  impossible  ?"  we  asked.  "Because,  Signori,"  ex 
claimed  the  landlord,  "your  passports  must  go  to  the 
chancellor  to  be  examined  and  approved,  which  will 
take  one  day,  and  on  the  next  day  to  the  prefect  of  police 
to  be  vised  before  you  can  depart,  and  you  will  have  to 
wait  for  the  steamer  of  next  week/'  This  was  all  an 
exceedingly  agreeable  situation  for  mine  host,  but  cor- 

165 


WILLIAM   ALLEN   BUTLER 

respondingly  disagreeable  for  his  four  American  guests, 
who  speedily  found  a  plan  to  escape  from  his  clutches  and 
from  the  Island  of  Sicily. 

After  a  hearty  dinner  we  engaged  the  services  of  a 
clever  cicerone,  ascertained  from  him  the  lodgings  of  the 
chancellor  whose  duty  it  was  to  examine  the  passports 
and  certify  to  our  good  character,  and  engaged  him  to 
be  at  the  hotel  very  early  the  following  morning.  Rising 
betimes  we  had  our  luggage  conveyed  to  the  pier,  off 
which  at  some  distance  in  the  harbor  lay  the  steamer,  ac 
cessible  only  by  small  boats.  Then  we  made  our  guide, 
who  was  somewhat  amazed  at  our  audacity,  conduct 
us  to  the  dwelling  of  the  chancellor,  whom  we  got  out  of 
bed  and  into  a  dressing-gown.  Pleading  the  urgency  of 
our  case,  we  asked  the  extraordinary  favor  of  an  immedi 
ate  examination  of  our  passports  and  permission  to  depart 
from  the  island.  He  was  a  very  good-natured  official. 
Being  satisfied,  after  an  examination,  that  we  were  not 
dangerous  to  the  peace  of  the  realm,  he  took  pen  and 
paper,  and  drew  a  deposition,  which  we  all  signed; 
and  he  then  endorsed  our  passports  in  due  form.  With 
many  thanks  and  profound  salutations  we  took  our  leave. 
"What  shall  I  give  him?"  said  I  to  the  cicerone.  "One 
piaster/'  he  replied  and  the  chancellor's  fingers  closed 
over  the  coin.  We  hurried  to  the  office  of  the  prefect 
of  police,  who  had  just  seated  himself  at  his  desk  for 
his  day's  work,  a  surly  figure.  After  a  glance  at  the 
chancellor's  certificates  he  affixed  his  vise  to  our  pass 
ports  without  a  word,  and  we  filed  out  of  the  office. 

1 66 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

"What  did  you  give  the  prefect?"  asked  our  guide. 

"Haifa  dollar,"  I  replied. 

He  uttered  an  exclamation  of  surprise. 

"You  should  have  given  him  a  great  deal  more." 

"I  only  gave  the  chancellor  a  dollar,"  was  my  reply, 
at  which,  to  my  consternation,  he  said,  "The  chancellor 
is  nobody,  a  mere  clerk,  while  the  prefect" 

It  was  too  late  to  correct  my  blunder  and  we  were 
on  the  full  run  to  the  pier.  The  funnels  of  the  steamer 
were  smoking  and  she  was  on  the  point  of  steaming  away 
when  our  small  boat  overhauled  her,  just  in  time  for  us 
to  gain  her  deck  whence  we  saw  the  receding  shores  of 
Sicily  gradually  sink  out  of  sight. 

[The  party  of  young  men  returning  from  Sicily  took  a 
second  look  at  Naples  and  then  went  directly  to  Rome, 
where  they  spent  three  weeks.  In  a  letter  dated  Feb 
ruary  1 8,  1847,  my  father  writes  to  his  mother: 

"We  got  here  Saturday  night  the  30  of  January,  a 
date  less  interesting  perhaps  to  you  then  to  me,  who  am 
inclined  to  think  Rome,  after  all,  the  place  of  all  others 
most  worth  such  a  pilgrimage  as  we  are  making.  .  .  . 

"We  are  very  comfortably  settled — after  spending  one 
day  at  a  Hotel,  we  spent  nearly  the  whole  of  another  in  a 
search  for  lodgings,  renewing  our  Parisian  experience  in 
a  similar  emergency  of  half  a  hundred  flights  of  stairs 
and  innumerable  suites  of 'apartments' of  all  sorts,  shapes 
and  sizes,  except  the  right  ones.  Finally  after  exploring 
a  great  part  of  the  Modern  City  to  no  purpose,  we  found, 
within  a  dozen  doors  of  our  Hotel,  the  very  thing  we 
wanted.  .  .  . 

"Our  landlady  is  most  assiduous  in  attentions,  and 
we  have  the  very  *ne  plus  ultra'  (being  at  Rome  you  see 
revives  one's  classical  habits)  of  'cameriere'  (Anglice— 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

*  chambermaids')  in  an  old  woman  whose  sole  pervad 
ing  idea  appears  to  be  our  comfort.  I  think  you  would 
highly  approve  of  her,  for  she  insists  amongst  other  things 
on  having  our  boots  over  night,  putting  us  all  into  slip 
pers,  sometimes  at  a  very  early  hour."  .  .  . — ED.] 

It  was  nine  years  since  I  had  been  in  Rome.  While 
I  saw  little  change  in  the  medieval  dirt  by  day  and  dark 
ness  by  night  I  found  the  body  politic  had  undergone  a 
great  change.  Gregory  XVI  had  been  gathered  to  his 
fathers  and  fitly  entombed  in  St.  Peter's.  Cardinal  Mas- 
tai  Ferretti,  fifty-five  years  of  age,  of  a  noble  family,  first 
a  soldier  and  afterward  a  priest,  had  become  Pope  under 
the  name  of  Pius  IX.  His  comparative  youth,  his  fine 
figure,  his  benignant  presence,  his  liberal  views  and  his 
supposed  friendliness  to  reform,  conspired  to  make  him 
an  ideal  pontiff.  His  accession  to  the  Holy  See  was 
greeted  with  enthusiasm  throughout  the  states  of  the 
Church  on  the  part  of  the  promoters  of  advanced  ideas, 
and  the  new  Pope  immediately  established  a  lasting  pop 
ularity  with  the  people.  It  was  told  of  him  that,  on  taking 
possession  of  the  Vatican,  he  reduced  the  daily  expenses 
of  the  table  for  his  own  service  from  two  hundred  scudi, 
the  Gregory  outlay,  to  three  scudi;  he  had  gone  incognito 
to  visit  a  poor  woman  who  had  fallen  downstairs;  had 
graciously  received,  as  he  was  entering  St.  Peter's  to  say 
mass,  from  a  poor  man  a  bouquet,  and  placed  the  flowers 
in  front  of  him  on  the  high  altar,  where,  in  fact,  I  saw 
them  a  day  or  two  afterward.  I  had  the  opportunity  of 
observing  him  at  numerous  functions,  such  as  the  in- 

168 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

vestiture  of  newly  appointed  cardinals  in  the  palace  of 
the  Quirinal,  and  the  many  services  of  Holy  Week  to 
which  the  new  pontificate  gave  unusual  interest.  I  saw 
him  in  the  celebration  of  mass,  in  the  washing  of  feet  of 
the  twelve  apostles  (represented  for  the  occasion  by  well- 
selected  pilgrims),  and  in  his  bestowal  of  the  papal  bene 
diction  from  the  front  balcony  of  St.  Peter's  upon,  per 
haps,  as  large  a  concourse  as  had  ever  been  gathered  in 
the  great  Piazza.  On  all  of  these  occasions  he  was  al 
ways  the  same — dignified,  graceful  and  benevolent. 

At  this  time  the  Pope  and  the  cardinals  moved  freely 
with  the  Roman  people,  and  their  splendid  equipages  were 
familiar  sights  in  the  streets  of  the  Eternal  City.  Wher 
ever  and  whenever  the  Pope  appeared  he  was  greeted 
with  every  token  of  affection,  while  the  cardinals,  with 
out  exciting  enthusiasm  by  their  presence,  furnished  by 
their  black  horses  and  highly  decorated  attendants  a  sight 
always  pleasing  to  the  populace. 

All  this  was  afterward  changed.  Like  Louis  Philippe, 
whom  we  had  seen  in  what  seemed  to  be  his  secure  seat 
of  power  in  Paris,  Pius  IX.  was  soon  to  be  a  fugitive  from 
his  palace;  not  indeed,  like  the  French  king,  doomed  to 
foreign  exile,  but  destined  to  be  shorn  of  his  temporal 
power,  stripped  of  his  dominions  and  forced  to  elect  a 
voluntary  imprisonment  within  the  walls  of  the  Vatican. 

But  we  were  happy  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  early 
auspicious  days  of  the  new  pontificate.  We  shared  this 
enjoyment  with  many  good  American  friends,  which  made 
the  winter  of  1847  m  R°me  memorable  for  charming 

169 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

American  companionship.  Of  the  young  men  who  dined 
together  at  the  "Lepri,"  and  then  adjourned  to  the  Caffe 
Greco  in  the  Via  Condotti,  were  many  who  were  to  at 
tain  eminence  in  later  life.  George  William  Curtis, 
John  F.  Kensett,  Thomas  Crawford,  Thomas  Hicks, 
Luther  Terry,  and  Christopher  P.  Cranch  were  among 
them.  The  Caffe  Greco  had,  in  the  rear  of  the  premises, 
a  long  narrow  room,  with  seats  on  either  side,  like  a 
stationary  omnibus,  and  there,  night  after  night,  a  com 
pany  of  Americans,  who  hailed  the  advent  of  Pius  IX 
as  the  dawn  of  a  new  era,  discussed  art,  literature  and 
politics.  When  in  1898  I  was  in  Rome  for  the  last  time 
I  looked  for  the  ancient  cafe,  but  found  that  it  existed 
only  in  name,  and  had  fallen  to  the  base  uses  of  a  com 
mon  wine-shop. 

Probably  for  the  first  time  since  the  American  Revo 
lution  we  managed,  but  even  then  under  the  surveillance 
of  the  pontifical  police,  to  celebrate  Washington's  Birth 
day  by  a  dinner  in  Rome.  It  was  attended  by  nearly  all 
of  the  American  tourists,  and  the  encomiums  of  Pius  IX, 
blended  with  the  memories  of  Washington,  were  as  sincere 
as  they  were  patriotic. 

[In  Rome  my  father  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  Hiram 
Powers,  then  in  the  height  of  his  fame. 

In  a  letter  home  dated  April  21,  1847,  mv  fatner  says: 
"  I  see  a  great  deal  of  Powers,  and  am  delighted.  The 
Greek  Slave  is  just  on  the  point  of  being  shipped  for  the 
U.  S.  The  owner,  a  gentleman  of  N.  Orleans,  has  given 
permission  to  have  it  exhibited  all  over  the  country,  for 
Power's  benefit,  of  course.  It  will  be  first  at  Boston, 

170 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

and  then  at  N.  York.  But  I  hope  it  will  not  come  to  the 
latter  place  before  I  get  home,  for  I  want  the  pleasure 
of  going  with  you  to  see  it.  It  is  the  greatest  work  of  the 
age — I  mean  this  actual  age — whether  greater  altogether 
than  anything  of  Canova,  I  am  not  prepared  yet  to  say 
what  my  opinion  (this  of  course  only  for  my  own  satis 
faction)  is.  But  to  compare  it  with  the  single  works  of  the 
same  class,  as  for  instance  Canova's  Venus  at  the  Pitti 
Palace,  it  is  far  superior,  and  so  everybody  says.  He 
is  hard  at  work  now.  The  Slave  has  been  ordered  by 
several  persons — Lord  Ward  the  last,  and  two  or  three 
copies  are  going  forward  now  in  the  studio.  The  Eve  as 
perfect  in  its  way  is  soon  to  be  put  in  marble — and  in 
the  mean  time  he  has  orders  innumerable.  His  bust  of 
the  Grand  Duchess,  a  splendid  thing,  has  put  him  in 
great  favor  with  the  Court  here,  and  his  reputation  a 
stranger  soon  finds  to  be  of  that  permanent,  established 
sort  that  nobody  thinks  of  contradicting  or  arguing  about. 
He  has  a  bust  of  Genl.  Jackson  which  ought  to  be  in 
New  York  and  I  think  on  the  strength  of  the  excitement 
that  will  inevitably  follow  the  exhibition  of  the  Statue  it 
will  be  an  easy  matter  to  get  it  ordered." 

From  Rome  the  travelers  journeyed  to  Florence  and 
thence  to  Venice,  whence  my  father  writes  enthusiastically 
to  one  of  his  sisters: 

"What  shall  I  tell  you  now  about  Venice — of  all  places 
the  most  satisfying  coming  the  nearest  to  expectation  and 
fancy  always  beyond  reality,  the  most  novel,  and  per 
haps  most  charming  chiefly  for  that  very  reason.  I  was 
enchanted  with  Venice,  and  our  stay  there,  though  only  a 
week  long  was  complete  and  left  nothing  to  regret — every 
day  clear,  bright  and  warm,  every  night  beautiful  with 
a  growing  moon.  So  we  wandered  about,  sometimes 
walking,  sometimes  sailing — 'one  foot  on  sea  and  one  on 
shore'  with  the  freshest  sense  of  enjoyment,  as  in  an  en 
chanted  region,  for  there  is  nothing  familiar  to  us  on  terra 
firma  that  Venice  can  be  compared  to — it  is  unreal,  dream 
like  and  the  satisfaction  one  has  in  it  resembles  more  than 
anything  I  know  of  the  exhilarating  delights  of  childhood. 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

As  Mrs.  Jameson  says  'O!  to  make  children  of  us  again — 
nothing  like  Venice!'  To  hear  no  sound  of  hoofs  and 
wheels,  to  see  no  dust  blowing  across  the  streets  into  your 
open  windows — to  be  in  a  great  city  without  a  single  con 
sciousness  of  bustle  or  noisy  trade  or  any  of  the  desagre- 
ments  of  a  crowded  population,  so  that  even  in  the  great 
square  of  St.  Mark  you  can  sit  quietly  with  a  thousand 
people  besides,  a  whole  evening,  as  in  a  vast  palace  court 
with  nothing  to  disturb  you — to  say  nothing  of  gondolas 
and  palaces  and  famous  pictures,  and  grand  churches, 
and  the  sea  all  around  with  sweet  islands  for  sunset  ex 
cursions — nothing  of  associations  historic  and  poetic — or 
rather  to  include  all  these  in  the  sum  total,  and  still  what 
idea  of  Venice  can  I  give  you." 

Here  at  Venice  he  composed  another  one  of  those 
poems  of  travel  which  indicate,  as  it  were,  the  high-water 
mark  of  enthusiasm  and  emotion. — ED.] 

TITIAN'S   "ASSUMPTION" 

Burst  is  the  iron  gate! 

And,  from  the  night  of  fate, 
Out  of  the  darkness  and  the  gloom  abhorred; 

Amidst  the  choral  hymn, 

With  cloud  and  cherubim, 
The  Virgin  leaves  the  tomb — arisen  like  her  Lord! 

Free  in  the  heavens  she  soars, 

While  the  clear  radiance  pours, 
Like  a  vast  glory,  round  her  upward  face; 

And  higher  still,  and  higher, 

With  the  angelic  choir, 
The  soul  by  grace  regained,  regains  the  realms  of  grace. 

In  mortal  shape!  and  yet, 

Upon  her  brow  is  set 
The  new  celestial  glory,  like  a  crown; 

Her  eyes  anticipate 

The  bright  eternal  state; 
Her  arms  to  heaven  extend;  to  her  the  heavens  reach  down! 

I72 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

We,  with  the  saints  beneath, 

Half  lose  our  mortal  breath, 
With  sense  and  soul  still  following  where  she  flies; 

They,  rapt  into  the  light 

Of  the  miraculous  sight — 
We,  of  the  wondrous  art  that  gives  it  to  our  eyes! 

After  Florence,  Venice,  and  Vienna,  we  found  at  Ber 
lin  a  pleasant  welcome  from  our  Minister,  Major  Andrew 
Jackson  Donelson,  whom  I  have  spoken  of  before  as  the 
private  secretary  of  General  Jackson  during  his  presidency 
and  who,  with  his  charming  family,  were  now  at  the  Prus 
sian  Court.  Henry  Wheaton,  who  for  sixteen  years  had 
represented  the  United  States  at  Berlin,  first  as  charge 
d'affaires  and  then  as  minister,  was  a  scholar  and  an 
author  well  fitted  for  a  diplomatic  post  which  gave  him 
full  opportunity  to  follow  his  favorite  pursuits.  The 
whirligig  of  politics  had  removed  Mr.  Wheaton  and  sub 
stituted  in  his  place  Major  Donelson,  who  took  me  to 
Potsdam  to  visit  Baron  Von  Humboldt,  then  living  in  the 
palace  with  the  king  and  on  very  friendly  terms  with  the 
American  minister. 

We  found  the  great  naturalist  established  in  rather 
shabby  quarters  in  the  palace.  He  received  us  in  a  room 
bare  of  any  adornment  and  sparsely  furnished.  We  had 
a  long  and  very  pleasant  interview  with  him.  He  spoke 
English  perfectly,  went  over  some  of  his  experiences  in 
Mexico,  and  seemed  really  interested  in  doing  the  talking, 
to  which  I  listened  with  the  deepest  interest. 


CHAPTER  XII 

LONDON — BREAKFAST  WITH  SAMUEL  ROGERS — HIS  TABLE  TALK — LETTER 
FROM  MRS.  GEORGE  BANCROFT — LITERARY  CELEBRITIES — CONTRIBU 
TIONS  TO  "THE  LITERARY  WORLD"  AND  "THE  DEMOCRATIC  REVIEW" 

— POEMS  OF  TRAVEL — RETURN  HOME — MEXICAN  WAR — TREATY  OF 
GUADALUPE  HIDALGO — WILMOT  PROVISO — PRESIDENTIAL  CAMPAIGN  OF 
1848 — FREE  SOIL  PARTY. 

PRESIDENT  POLK  early  in  his  administration  had 
relieved  George  Bancroft  from  the  uncongenial  post 
of  Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  appointed  him  Minister  to 
England.  My  visit  to  London  in  the  fall  of  1847,  wmcn 
completed  my  long  European  tour,  was  made  most  agree 
able  by  the  kindness  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bancroft  in  ena 
bling  me  to  meet  the  men  whom  I  most  desired  to  see. 
At  his  rooms  in  The  Albany,  where  he  lived  very  simply, 
I  met  Lord  Macaulay,  who  was  in  one  of  his  most  genial 
conversational  moods  and  I  listened  in  breathless  silence 
while  he  gave  a  monologue  on  the  Temple  and  the  Rules 
of  the  Order.  Carlyle  we  visited  at  his  house  in  Chelsea. 
Emerson  had  been  there  as  a  guest,  and  Mrs.  Carlyle, 
who  seemed  to  be  a  somewhat  matter-of-fact  person,  de 
clared  she  could  hardly  make  him  out.  I  have  an  indis 
tinct  recollection  of  a  certain  querulousness  in  Carlyle's 
tone  which,  I  suppose,  was  natural  to  the  philosopher, 
and  was  characteristic  of  his  more  public  outgivings. 

'74 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

Lord  John  Russell,  Hallam,  and  other  notabilities  were 
within  the  circle  of  my  brief  opportunity.1 

Samuel  Rogers,  banker  and  poet,  author  of  "The 
Pleasures  of  Memory,"  retaining  at  an  advanced  age  all 
his  faculties  and  enjoying  the  evening  of  his  life  with  his 
many  friends,  was  fond  of  entertaining  Americans  in  his 
handsome  house  fronting  St.  James  Park,  and,  one  morn 
ing,  in  company  with  Mrs.  Bancroft,  I  was  invited  to 
breakfast  with  him.  He  was  a  very  genial  host,  full  of  anec 
dote  and  table  talk.  Perhaps  he  said  the  same  things  a 
great  many  times  to  different  guests  at  successive  break 
fasts,  but  some  of  the  good  things  I  brought  away  may  not 
be  unworthy  of  record.  We  were  received  in  a  drawing- 
room  looking  out  on  the  park  and  having  one  of  those 
large  bay-windows  which  actually  let  in  light  and  warmth 
even  in  London.  The  room  was  hung  with  the  gems  of 
Rogers'  collection  of  pictures,  and  crowded  with  his  virtu 
oso  treasures. 

[On  his  return  to  his  lodgings  after  breakfasting  with 
Rogers,  my  father  wrote  in  his  diary,  by  one  of  his  re 
markable  feats  of  memory,  a  full  account  of  this  visit. 
It  is  too  lengthy  to  admit  of  its  being  introduced  here  in 

1  My  father  and  his  friends,  at  this  time  were  living  in  London  in  lodgings 
at  No.  40  Craven  Street,  concerning  which  he  wrote  to  his  mother  on  No 
vember  1 6,  1847: 

"  We  are  very  comfortably  off.  We  live  in  Craven  Street  (Strand),  which 
was  immortal  previous  to  our  taking  rooms  in  it,  by  the  famous  epigram  of 
James  Smith  of  "  Rejected  Addresses  "  memory  which  ran  thus: 

'  In  Craven  Street,  Strand,  twelve  lawyers  find  place, 

'  And  fifty  coal  barges  lie  moored  at  its  base, 

'  Fly  honesty,  fly,  to  some  safer  retreat, 

'  For  there's  craft  in  the  river  and  craft  in  the  street.'  " — ED.] 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

its  entirety,  but  certain  extracts  are  given  illustrative  of 
Rogers'  collection  of  objets  d'art  and  of  his  brilliant  table 
talk,  for  both  of  which  he  was  deservedly  famous. — ED.] 

He  is  infirm  and  old,  like  the  Last  Minstrel,  much  bent 
and  tottering  as  he  walks.  His  face  is  not  remarkable. 
It  does  not  indicate  the  poet  any  more  than  the  banker. 
It  has  the  faded  feebleness  which  accompanies  extreme 
old  age  always,  the  placid  benevolence  which  dignifies 
it  sometimes. 

We  remarked  on  the  beauty  of  the  morning.  "It  is 
very  kind  of  you  to  notice  it,"  he  said.  "You  who  have 
so  much  splendor  in  America."  And  then,  as  a  kind  of 
corroboration  of  the  superiority  of  our  climate,  he  brought 
out  a  book  of  paintings  of  American  autumnal  leaves, 
which  had  lately  been  presented  to  him. 

Speaking  or  the  rarity  of  sunshine  in  London,  he 
added,  "Do  you  remember  the  answer  of  the  Persian  to 
the  Englishman,  who  said  to  him,  'You  worship  the  sun 
in  your  country,  don't  you?*  'Yes,'  replied  the  Persian, 
'and  so  would  you — if  you  ever  saw  him.' ' 

His  book  of  autographs  lay  on  the  center  table.  He 
opened  it  to  a  splendid  three-page  letter  of  Washington 
to  Hamilton,  written  when  he  was  deliberating  whether 
to  serve  the  second  presidential  term.  "Our  country  has 
never  produced  such  a  man  as  Washington,"  said  Rogers, 
and  I  doubt  if  it  ever  will." 

Mrs.  B.  "  But  you  have  such  a  galaxy  of  great  men 
in  England,  even  Washington  can  be  spared." 

Rogers  shook  his  head — and  then  taking  up  a  book 
that  lay  on  the  table,  he  added,  "I  don't  think  our  country 
has  a  much  better  historian  than  this,  or  (taking  up  an 
other)  a  much  better  poet  than  this."  The  first  book  was 
Prescott's  "Peru,"  the  second  "Bryant's  Poems." 

Rogers  said  he  had  seen  Bryant,  but  he  was  so  shy 
that  it  was  difficult  to  draw  him  out.  He  (Rogers)  spoke 
of  his  editorial  occupations  as  a  misfortune. 

He  showed  us  a  book  which  some  one  had  given  him 
printed  by  Franklin. 

176 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

•'  Franklin,"  said  he, "  came  next  to  Washington."  Then 
speaking  of  the  Revolutionary  War:  "I  remember  very 
well  the  night  my  father,  as  he  opened  the  Bible  for  even 
ing  prayers,  said  to  us  children,  'The  siege  of  Boston  is 
begun.'  From  that  time  all  our  sympathies  were  with 
you;  the  surrender  of  the  army  gave  us  great  joy." 

He  knew  of  one  man,  who,  when  the  war  broke  out, 
was  a  shipper  of  artillery  in  government  employ;  he 
threw  up  his  place  when  ordered  to  send  supplies  to  Amer 
ica  saying,  "I  cannot  ship  artillery  against  my  own  coun 
trymen."  Of  another  person  of  consequence,  who  sent 
for  his  tailor  to  measure  him  for  a  suit  of  mourning;  said 
the  tailor,  ''You  have  lost  some  friend,  some  relative?" 
"Yes,"  he  replied,  "many — at  Lexington." 

On  the  way  to  breakfast,  Rogers  showed  us  a  sketch 
by  Turner.  It  hangs  in  his  library.  The  subject  is 
Stonehenge,  with  one  of  the  artist's  most  terrible,  hurly- 
burly  skies  overhead,  "enough  to  frighten  anybody  to  look 
at,"  said  Rogers.  At  the  table  the  conversation  naturally 
turned  on  Turner. 

Our  host  ridiculed  Ruskin's  new  book  ("Modern 
Painters'')  in  which  Turner  is  so  overpraised.  He  sent  a 
servant  to  the  library  for  the  book,  and  on  its  being 
brought,  read  an  extract  in  which  Turner  is  likened  to 
the  angel  of  the  Apocalypse  standing  with  one  foot  on  the 
sea,  and  the  other  on  the  shore,  etc.,  as  the  very  climax  of 
absurdity.1 

Rogers  spoke  of  the  National  Academy  of  London. 
"It  is  beginning  to  attract  attention  abroad,  there  are  so 
many  fine  things  there,"  said  he.  I  alluded  to  the  small 
number  of  Van  Dycks  one  sees  there — thinking  it  strange 
that  while  there  are  so  many  all  over  England,  and  as 
Van  Dyck  was  almost  an  Englishman  himself,  there 
should  be  only  two  or  three  of  his  pictures  in  the  Academy. 

Rogers  said,  "The  Van  Dycks  that  are  'all  over  Eng 
land'  are  not  the  best  specimens  of  his  style.  His  best 

1 1  have  since  looked  in  the  book  in  question  for  this  passage,  but  cannot  find 
it.  It  must  have  been  suppressed  in  later  editions  than  that  which  Rogers  read 
from,  as  too  Ruskiny  to  suit  any  portion  of  the  public  taste. — W.  A.  B.  1900. 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

pictures  were  painted  before  he  left  Holland.  After  he 
got  here  he  found  that  the  ladies  liked  to  see  themselves 
painted  with  very  long,  thin  fingers,  sprawling  out  in  this 
way"  (spreading  out  his  hands  against  his  coat),  "and  so 
he  painted  Van  Dycks  from  morning  to  night — but  those 
in  the  Academy  are  from  Holland." 

He  asked  if  we  had,  in  America,  casts  from  the  an 
tiques,  especially  from  the  Elgin  Marbles — of  which  he  has 
a  great  admiration,  ranking  them  first  of  all  among  the 
relics  of  Greek  art.  (He  has  casts  of  them  over  his 
staircase,  very  well  arranged  for  light  and  effect,  and  on 
returning  to  the  drawing-room  afterward  pointed  out 
some  of  their  beauties.)  Speaking  of  casts,  he  said  they 
were  as  good  as  the  originals,  and  in  fact  better,  in  the 
respect  of  their  being  free  from  stains. 

We  sat  some  time  at  breakfast.  It  would  have  puz 
zled  an  habitue  of  the  Cafe  Foy  to  have  pronounced  on 
the  character  of  this  meal  —  whether  a  dejeuner  or  a 
dejeuner  a  la  fourchette — and  Theuiller  would  probably 
have  been  shocked  at  its  nondescript  quality.  But  we 
were  at  the  same  table  with  Rogers — one  of  the  few  old 
names  which  bring  back  the  old  feelings,  for  to  speak 
of  Rogers  is  to  speak  of  Byron,  and  Scott  and  Coleridge, 
and  to  talk  with  him  is  almost  to  talk  with  them.  We 
looked  up  from  our  coffee  and  rolls  to  a  genuine  Raphael, 
a  genuine  Andrea  del  Sarto,  and  a  genuine  Titian. 

After  breakfast,  on  our  return  to  the  drawing-room, 
Rogers  showed  us  a  small  bookcase  upon  the  upper  cor 
nice  of  which  there  is  some  carved  work.  He  said : 
"Chantrey  was  dining  here  one  day  in  a  large  company, 
and  said  to  me,  'Do  you  remember  some  five  and  twenty 
years  ago  a  workman  coming  in  at  that  door  and  taking 
some  measures  for  the  carving  of  that  bookcase  ?  I  was 
that  workman,  and  glad  enough  I  was  to  get  five  shillings 
a  day  for  the  carving/ ' 

There  is  a  bust  of  Pope  by  Roubillac  on  a  pier  table. 
It  is  in  clay.  Rogers  said  that  Flaxman's  father  remem 
bered  going  into  Roubillac's  study  when  he  was  at  work 
modelling  it.  Pope  sat  in  an  arm-chair  before  him.  He 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

showed  us  a  beautiful  antique  bust — probably  the  head 
of  an  athlete.  Canova  brought  it  from  Italy — it  was 
found  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tiber.  "He  brought  it  into 
this  room  and  placed  it  where  it  stands." 

"Here,"  said  Rogers,  "is  a  hand  (a  beautiful  frag 
ment)  which  Canova  has  kissed  many  times." 

He  showed  us  his  Etruscan  vases,  which  are  very 
fine  specimens,  and  pointed  out  their  beauties,  sending 
into  his  library  for  certain  books  on  art  in  which  they  are 
described  by  persons  who  have  seen  them  in  his  house. 
He  pointed  out  an  exquisite  fragment  of  a  frescoe,  by 
Giotto — two  heads  from  the  Chiesa  del  Carmine  at  Flor 
ence;  subject,  two  of  the  disciples  approaching  the  tomb 
of  Christ.  "Before  the  Reformation,"  said  he,  "they 
painted  with  more  religious  feeling  than  since." 

There  is  a  charming  Guercino.  It  hangs  on  the 
left  hand  side  of  the  room,  close  by  the  window:  It  is  a 
Madonna  and  Child.  The  Virgin  holds  the  infant  naked 
in  one  arm — the  left;  on  a  finger  on  the  right  hand  she 
has  a  bird,  at  which  the  Child  is  looking,  half  in  de 
light,  half  in  surprise — the  whole  thing  is  exquisitely  told. 
Nearby  hangs  a  Raphael — the  same  subject.  In  this  the 
Virgin  is  standing,  and  holds  the  Child  upright  in  her 
arms.  He  is  clinging  to  her  as  if  a  little  frightened.  It 
is  a  sweet  specimen  of  Raphael.  We  admired  these  two 
pictures.  Rogers  said  of  the  Raphael  that,  for  a  long  time, 
he  kept  it  in  his  bedroom;  but,  at  last,  his  friends  per 
suaded  him  to  bring  it  down  stairs  and  place  it  among 
the  others. 

Mrs.  B—  -  noticed  the  beautiful  manner  in  which  the 
maternal  feeling  was  expressed  in  the  picture. 

Rogers.  'Yes,  and  there  is  nothing  like  it.  Do  you 
remember  what  Gray  says — 'that  a  man  may  have  many 
friends,  many  brothers,  many  sisters,  but  he  has  only  one 
mother — a  discovery'  he  adds,  'which  I  did  not  make 
until  it  was  too  late.'  I  remember  as  well  as  if  it  were 
yesterday,  though  I  was  only  eight  years  old,  when  my 
mother  died.  She  said  to  her  children  'It  makes  no  dif 
ference  what  happens  to  you — only  be  good ; '  and  that 

179 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

is  the  truth,"  continued  he,  laying  his  hand  on  his  heart. 
"  What  becomes  of  us  in  this  world  is  of  no  consequence, 
so  long  as  we  are  right  here/' 

Of  West,  Rogers  told  a  story  which  I  think  he  said  he 
had  from  West's  own  lips.  His  mother  left  him  one  day, 
when  a  small  boy,  in  charge  of  the  baby,  who  was  asleep 
in  the  cradle,  with  strict  injunctions  to  watch  it  carefully. 
Presently  he  was  so  struck  with  the  appearance  of  the 
child  that  he  could  not  help  trying  to  make  a  sketch  of 
it,  and  so  with  a  pencil  and  paper  went  to  work  and  be 
came  so  engrossed  in  the  process  as  to  quite  forget  his 
charge.  When  his  mother  returned  she  found  the  baby's 
face  covered  with  flies.  "  Whereupon,"  said  the  President 
of  the  Royal  Academy,  "she  began  scolding  me;  but 
when  she  saw  what  I  had  been  about  she  gave  me  a  kiss 
— "and  that  kiss  did  it:" 

Of  Lady he  told  this:  "She  said  to  me  one  day 

'you  never  come  to  see  us/  'But  I  will  come.'  'Will 
you  come  to  breakfast  on  Friday?'  'On  Friday  I  will 
come  to  breakfast.'  'Name  whom  you  would  like  to 
meet.'  And  I  named  them.  Friday  came  and  I  forgot 
all  about  it.  The  first  thing  I  knew  Lady  —  -  sent  me 
these  verses."  Whereupon  he  produced  the  verses  and 
read  them  capitally.  They  do  not  differ  much  from  this: 

"When  a  poet  a  lady  offends, 

In  prose  he  ne'er  favor  regains, 
And  from  Rogers  can  aught  make  amends, 
But  the  humblest  and  sweetest  of  strains? 

"In  glad  expectation,  our  board 

With  roses  and  lilies  we  graced, 
But  alas!   the  Bard  kept  not  his  word, 
He  came  not  for  whom  they  were  placed. 

"In silence  our  toast  we  bespread, 

Then  played  with  our  teaspoons  and  sighed, 
Insipid  tea,  butter,  and  bread, 
For  the  salt  of  his  wit  was  denied. 

I  So 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

"In  wrath  we  acknowledged  how  well 

He,  the  Pleasures  of  Memory  who  drew, 
For  mankind  from  his  magical  shell, 
Gives  the  pain  of  Forgetfulness  too !" 

He  told  a  story  of  Lady  Charlotte  Lindsey  (Lord 
North's  daughter).  There  was  a  discussion  one  day  at 
dinner  on  the  question — Suppose  a  lady  arrives  in  Eng 
land  from  France  with  only  one  word  of  English  at  com 
mand,  what  word  would  be  most  serviceable  ?  Every 
body  said  of  course,  Tes,  that  is  the  most  useful  of  words. 
Lady  Charlotte  said  "Not  at  all.  No  is  much  more 
useful,  for,  with  a  lady,  yes  never  means  no,  but  no  very 
often  means  yes." 

We  turned  again  to  the  book  of  autographs — a  rare 
collection — containing,  besides,  the  most  valuable  part  of 
his  correspondence  with  many  of  his  contemporaries  more 
illustrious  than  himself.  He  read  with  much  emphasis, 
part  of  a  letter  from  Byron,  in  which  he  dwells  on  his 
domestic  troubles,  etc. 

Turning  to  a  letter  of  Fox— "I  knew  him  well,"  he 
said,  "and  I  saw  him  on  his  deathbed — Sheridan  too." 

He  called  our  attention  to  a  manuscript  page  of  Wa- 
verly  as  showing  how  few  alterations  Scott  made  in  his 
draft.  From  a  letter  of  Scott  to  himself  he  read  some  ex 
tracts. 

I  noticed  in  the  book  a  letter  of  Mozart  written  in  a 
peculiarly  elegant  hand. 

After  this,  at  the  request  of  Mrs.  B—  — ,  than  whom 
no  one  could  more  gracefully  or  successfully  have  drawn 
him  from  one  topic  of  interest  to  another,  Rogers  sent  for 
his  journal,  the  sanctum  sanctorum  of  his  memories,  and 
read  several  passages.  It  is  intended  for  publication  after 
his  death.  He  read  us  the  preface — it  is  a  very  pleasing 
introduction  to  very  pleasant  matter. 

Of  Scott  he  read  the  following  story,  very  much  as 
it  is  given  in  Lockhart's  Life,  where  it  is  credited  to 
Rogers:  :< There  was  a  boy  in  my  class  at  school  who 
stood  always  at  the  top  nor  could  I  with  all  my  efforts 

181 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

supplant  him.  Day  came  after  day  and  still  he  kept  his 
place  do  what  I  would;  till  at  length  I  observed  that 
when  a  question  was  asked  him,  he  always  fumbled  with 
his  fingers  at  a  particular  button  in  the  lower  part  of  his 

6  T»      *  i  r  i  r         i-  • 

waistcoat.  1  o  remove  it,  therefore,  became  expedient  in 
my  eyes,  and  in  an  evil  moment  it  was  removed  with  a 
knife.  Great  was  my  anxiety  to  know  the  success  of  my 
measure  and  it  succeeded  too  well.  When  the  boy  was 
again  questioned  his  fingers  sought  again  for  the  button 
but  it  was  not  to  be  found.  In  his  distress  he  looked 
down  for  it;  but  it  was  to  be  seen  no  more  than  to  be 
felt.  He  stood  confounded  and  I  took  possession  of  his 
place;  nor  did  he  ever  recover  it  or  ever  I  believe,  sus 
pect  who  was  the  author  of  his  wrong.  Often  in  after 
life  has  the  sight  of  him  smote  me  as  I  passed  him;  and 
often  have  I  resolved  to  make  him  some  reparation  but 
it  ended  in  good  resolutions.  Though  I  never  renewed 
my  acquaintance  with  him  I  often  saw  him,  for  he  filled 
some  inferior  office  in  one  of  the  Courts  of  law  at  Edin 
burgh.  Poor  fellow!  I  believe  he  is  dead;  he  took  early 
to  drinking." 

"These  things,"  said  he,  "Scott  used  to  tell  us  at 
Holland  House  between  night  and  morning.  One  of  the 
most  interesting  of  these  morceaux  and  the  last  one  I  re 
call  was  an  account  of  an  assembly  at  the  house  of  the 
French  Minister  at  which  Talleyrand  was  present  and 
also  Fox.  The  latter  had  with  him  a  son,  a  youth  who 
was  deaf  and  dumb,  and  who  had  come  down  for  a  visit 
to  his  father  from  the  institution  at  which  he  was  placed. 
With  this  boy  Fox  conversed  a  great  deal,  and  with  much 
animation,  making  use  of  signs.  *  It  was, '  said  Talleyrand, 
'a  most  striking  and  touching  spectacle  to  see  the  most 
eloquent  man  of  his  time  conversing  with  a  son  who  could 
neither  speak  nor  hear/ ' 

[Several  years  later,  probably  about  1860,  my  father 
sent  the  complete  diary  account  to  Mrs.  Bancroft,  which 
she  acknowledged  in  the  following  letter. — ED.] 

182 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

MY  DEAR  MR.  BUTLER: 

I  hasten  to  thank  you  for  the  very  great  pleasure 
you  have  given  me  and  Mr.  Bancroft  also,  by  your  notes 
of  Mr.  Rogers'  charming  conversation.  I  had  forgotten 
that  people  could  ever  talk  so  well,  and  as  I  read  them 
remembered  every  expression  of  the  face  and  every  in 
tonation  of  the  voice  with  which  he  uttered  the  words  so 
familiar  as  you  recalled  them,  but  which  I  should  have 
lost  forever  but  for  you.  I  doubt  if  there  exists  any  where 
in  England,  so  complete  a  record  of  what  Mr.  Rogers 
was  in  his  very  best  moods  and  I  cannot  help  wishing 
that  Sidney  Smith  had  been  living  when  you  were  there; 
then  you  might  have  preserved  some  adequate  impression 
of  what  his  conversation  must  have  been  to  produce  the 
effect  it  did,  but  which  seems  so  poor  in  the  fragments 
Lady  Holland  gives  us  in  her  interesting  biography. 

I  hope  you  are  as  grateful  as  you  ought  to  be  for 
the  memory  which  Heaven  has  given  you,  and  which  is 
granted  to  but  one  man  in  a  million.  I  have  never  seen 
anything  like  it,  except  in  Macaulay,  and  in  a  less  de- 

free    in   Edward    Everett.      Sir  James   Macintosh   and 
cott  are  said  to  have  been  wonderfully  endowed  too  in 
that  way. 

With  very  best  regards  to  Mrs.  Butler,  and  with 
renewed  thanks  for  the  pleasure  you  have  conferred, 
I  am, 

Yours  very  truly 

ELIZABETH   BANCROFT. 
17  West  2ist  St.  Jan.  i4th. 

[The  incident  of  my  father's  repeating  fifty  years  later 
Lady  -  -'s  poem  which  had  been  read  aloud  by  Mr. 
Rogers  is  told  in  his  Memorial  by  Judge  George  C.  Holt, 
and  can  be  found  on  page  412  post. 

Although  he  does  not  mention  it,  my  father  evidently 
included  in  his  travels  a  trip  to  Scotland.  This  is  shown  by 
the  poem  he  wrote  in  the  visitor's  book  at  the  Inversnaid  Inn, 
of  which  I  quote  the  first  and  the  last  two  stanzas. — ED.] 

183 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

THE  INVERSNAID   INN 
[Written  in  the  "Visitor's  Book,"  October  18,  1847] 

The  season  is  ended,  the  cold  days  begin, 

It's  all  over  now  with  the  Inversnaid  Inn; 

Ben  Lomond's  bleak  forehead,  the  tempest-tossed  Loch, 

The  wind  as  it  whistles  o'er  forest  and  rock, 

The  leaves  whirled  in  heaps  o'er  the  bog  and  the  brook, 

But,  more  plainly,  the  leaves  of  this  Visitors'  Book, 

Proclaim  the  sad  truth  that  the  dark  days  begin, 

And  it's  all  over  now  with  the  Inversnaid  Inn! 

No,  the  season  is  ended,  the  dark  days  begin; 
From  Stirling  and  Glasgow  the  last  coach  is  in, 
The  last  joint  is  roasted,  the  larder  is  bare, 
The  smoke  from  the  kitchen  has  faded  in  air, 
The  last  bill  receipted,  the  last  guinea  paid, 
The  last  shilling  doled  to  the  brisk  chambermaid; 
The  landlord  may  delve  and  the  landlady  spin, 
They  will  get  no  more  cash  from  the  Inversnaid  Inn. 

A  sad  picture  of  life!   its  pleasures  fly  fast, 
The  breezes  of  fortune  give  way  to  its  blast, 
The  bright  hues  of  romance  grow  yellow  and  brown, 
The  sunshine  of  fame  is  eclipsed  by  its  frown, 
The  warm  glow  of  friendship  and  passion  is  chilled, 
The  echoes  of  love  in  the  bosom  are  stilled, 
The  tempest  without  and  the  darkness  within, 
We  are  left  in  the  storm,  like  the  Inversnaid  Inn! 

I  have  endeavored  not  to  draw  too  largely  on  the  recol 
lections  of  my  foreign  travel  in  1846  and  1847.  Biogra 
phers,  English  and  American,  are  very  apt  to  give  a  large 
space  to  European  correspondence  or  reminiscences  of 
little  general  interest.  Perhaps  I  have  erred  in  the  same 
way.  Incidents  of  my  tour  to  which  I  have  not  referred  in 
these  pages  are  contained  in  a  short  series  of  articles  which 
I  contributed  to  The  Literary  World  under  the  title  "Out- 

184 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

of-the-way  Places  in  Europe,"  in  an  article  in  the  Dem- 
ocratic  Review  of  July,  1848,  entitled  "The  Last  of  the 
Condes,"  the  outcome  of  a  charming  visit  to  Chantilly, 
and  in  some  of  my  "Poems  of  Travel"  included  in  the 
edition  of  1899. 

I  left  Liverpool  on  my  homeward  voyage  December  4, 
1847,  on  tne  steamer  Hibernia,  Captain  Ryer,  and  again 
had  hard  luck  in  sailing  westward.  There  was  hardly  a 
tolerably  pleasant  day  on  the  whole  passage.  For  three 
successive  days  a  storm  prevented  observations,  and  on 
our  nineteenth  day  out  we  were  forced,  for  want  of  coal, 
to  put  into  Halifax.  After  replenishing  our  bunkers  we 
again  set  sail,  arriving  at  Boston,  the  only  American  port 
of  the  Cunarders  at  that  time,  on  the  morning  of  the 
25th,  after  three  weeks  of  discomfort,  which,  however, 
were  soon  forgotten  in  the  warmth  of  a  Christmas  home- 
greeting  in  the  early  evening. 

During  my  absence  in  Europe  the  Mexican  War  had 
been  going  on  and  had  been  fought  nearly  to  a  finish. 
The  annexation  of  Texas,  accomplished  at  the  close  of 
Tyler's  term  of  office,  had  been  resented  by  Mexico,  but 
she  was  not  strong  enough  to  make  it  a  cause  of  war. 
The  Polk  administration,  dominated  by  the  Southern 
slave  power,  was  eager  for  further  expansion  and  the  ac 
quisition  of  new  territory.  Our  claim  to  Oregon,  which 
involved  a  controversy  with  Great  Britain,  was  wisely 
settled  by  diplomacy.  Mexico  found  herself  constantly 
harassed  by  the  demands  of  the  Texans  on  the  western 

185 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

border  lines  for  the  extension  of  the  boundary  of  their 
State  to  the  Rio  Grande,  and  the  disputes  over  this  ques 
tion  of  boundary  naturally  led  up  to  hostilities.  General 
Taylor  made  a  hostile  advance  which  was  followed  by 
an  invasion  of  American  territory  by  Mexican  troops.  A 
number  of  American  soldiers  were  killed  on  American 
soil.  After  this,  war  was  inevitable.  Congress,  about  the 
middle  of  May,  1846,  declared  that  by  the  act  of  Mexico 
a  state  of  war  existed,  voted  ten  millions  of  dollars  for 
its  prosecution,  and  invited  the  enlistment  of  fifty  thou 
sand  volunteers. 

The  sober  sentiment  of  the  North  was  opposed  to  war 
and  to  the  entire  policy  which  had  provoked  it,  but,  once 
engaged  in  the  strife  of  arms,  hastened  with  unanimity  to 
uphold  the  government  and  to  sustain  our  soldiers  in  the 
field.  While  in  Europe  we  had  been  greeted  with  the 
tidings  of  successive  victories  by  the  armies  of  General 
Taylor  and  General  Scott,  who  were  gathering  on  battle 
fields  of  Mexico  laurels  to  be  used  in  future  presidential 
contests.  On  September  14,  1847,  General  Scott  entered 
the  City  of  Mexico,  and  placed  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
over  the  halls  of  the  Montezumas.  Mexico  was  beaten. 
By  the  treaty  of  Guadalupe-Hidalgo  in  February,  1848, 
she  ceded  to  the  United  States,  partly  as  indemnity  for 
the  expense  of  the  war  and  partly  in  consideration  of  a 
cash  payment  of  fifteen  million  dollars,  the  Territory  of 
Upper  California,  New  Mexico,  and  the  country  between 
the  Nueces  and  the  Rio  Grande,  the  disputed  possession 
of  which  had  brought  on  the  war. 

186 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

By  the  law  existing  at  the  time  of  its  acquisition  by 
the  United  States,  slavery  was  prohibited  in  all  of  this 
great  domain.  In  the  negotiations  pending  the  treaty, 
our  government  was  represented  by  Nicholas  P.  Trist,  of 
Virginia,  a  thorough-going  pro-slavery  man.  The  Mexi 
can  government  instructed  its  commissioners  to  insist  on 
a  provision  that  the  United  States  would  engage  not  to 
permit  slavery  in  any  portion  of  the  territory  ceded  by 
the  treaty.  But  this  demand  met  with  an  indignant  and 
vehement  refusal  on  the  part  of  Trist.  He  wrote  to  Mr. 
Buchanan,  Folk's  Secretary  of  State,  "I  assured  them 
that  if  it  were  in  their  power  to  offer  me  the  whole  terri 
tory  described  in  our  projet,  increased  ten-fold  in  value, 
and  in  addition  to  that  covered  a  foot  thick  with  pure 
gold,  upon  the  single  condition  that  slavery  should  be  ex 
cluded  therefrom,  I  could  not  entertain  the  offer  for  a 
moment,  nor  even  think  of  communicating  it  to  Wash 
ington."  l 

Long  before  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Mexico,  in  antici 
pation  of  our  gaining  possession  of  the  territory  afterward 
acquired,  the  permission  or  prohibition  of  slavery  within 
its  bounds  had  become  a  burning  question  in  and  out  of 
Congress.  As  early  as  the  summer  of  1846,  a  bill  was 
pending  in  Congress  placing  at  the  disposal  of  the  Pres 
ident  two  million  dollars  which  it  was  understood  might 
be  used  in  the  purchase  of  territory.  David  Wilmot,  a 
Democratic  Representative  from  Pennsylvania,  who  had 
favored  the  annexation  of  Texas  and  was  an  advocate  of 

1  Henry  Wilson,  "Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Slave  Power  in  America,"  vol.  II,  p.  26. 

.87 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

the  war  with  Mexico,  made  himself  famous  by  offering  as 
an  amendment  to  the  bill,  a  proviso  prohibiting  the  intro 
duction  of  slavery  into  the  territory  which  should  be  ac 
quired  from  Mexico.  The  "Wilmot  Proviso,"  as  it  was 
called,  became  at  once  the  keynote  of  organized  oppo 
sition  in  the  North  to  the  schemes  of  the  slavery  propa 
gandists  of  the  South.  Just  as  the  phrase  "  16  to  i "  was 
on  every  lip  during  the  presidential  campaign  of  1896,  so 
the  words  "Wilmot  Proviso"  were  heard  at  every  break 
fast-table,  dinner-table,  and  tea-table  throughout  the 
country.  They  stood  for  all  that  was  involved  in  the 
desperate  struggle  to  be  made  against  the  encroachments 
of  slavery  by  the  conscientious  and  moral  sentiment  of 
the  North. 

Later,  at  the  session  of  Congress  beginning  in  De 
cember,  1846,  a  new  bill  increasing  the  sum  to  be  placed 
at  the  disposal  of  the  President  from  two  million  to  three 
million  dollars  called  forth  a  renewal  of  the  "Wilmot 
Proviso "  which,  however,  failed  of  adoption  at  that  ses 
sion  and  was  temporarily  withdrawn  from  the  records  of 
national  legislation.  Meanwhile  discussion  and  debate 
continued  and  on  the  reassembling  of  Congress,  in 
December,  1847,  tne  question  of  providing  territorial  gov 
ernments  for  Oregon,  New  Mexico,  and  California  was 
urged.  It  was  the  long  session  and  was  protracted  into 
the  month  of  August,  1848.  On  the  last  day  of  the  ses 
sion  the  bill  providing  for  the  admission  of  Oregon  was 
passed,  but  no  legislation  had  been  accomplished  in  re 
spect  to  the  territory  acquired  from  Mexico. 

188 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

It  was  a  presidential  year,  and  was  signalized  in  the 
political  annals  of  the  United  States  by  the  formation  of 
the  Free-Soil  party,  a  brief  and  brilliant  episode  of  vital 
importance  to  the  progress  of  the  cause  of  human  freedom 
and  the  precursor  of  greater  things  than  it  was  able  of 
itself  to  achieve.  For  once  the  name  of  the  party  was 
not  a  mere  label  or  trade-mark,  but  stood  for  principle. 
"Free  Soil"  summed  up,  in  two  words,  the  initial  declara 
tion  of  the  party  that  there  must  be  "no  more  slave  States 
and  no  more  slave  territory,"  followed  by  the  stirring 
words,  "We  inscribe  on  our  banner  FREE  SOIL,  FREE 
SPEECH,  FREE  LABOR,  AND  FREE  MEN." 

From  the  moment  that  Robert  J.  Walker  had  mar 
shaled  the  slave-holding  Texas  annexationists  with  their 
Northern  coadjutors  to  overthrow  the  leadership  of  Van 
Buren  and  his  friends  in  the  Democratic  party,  the 
breach,  thus  created,  had  been  steadily  widening.  In 
New  York  the  Democracy  had  become  hopelessly  di 
vided.  The  conservative  portion,  styled  "Old  Hunkers," 
were  represented  in  the  Cabinet  by  Governor  Marcy  and 
were  in  accord  with  the  policy  of  the  administration. 
The  "Barn-Burners,"  whose  name  or  nickname  was  a 
far-fetched  derivation  from  a  supposititious  farmer  who 
burned  his  barn  to  get  rid  of  the  rats,  were  opposed  to 
Southern  aggression  and  claimed  to  represent  the  true 
principles  of  the  original  Jeffersonian  Democracy.  At 
Washington  all  the  efforts  of  the  men  in  power  were  di 
rected  to  territorial  expansion.  Texas,  in  the  southwest; 
Oregon,  in  the  northwest;  California,  on  the  Pacific 

189 


WILLIAM   ALLEN   BUTLER 

coast,  must  be  made  permanent  parts  of  the  territory 
of  the  United  States,  and  all,  as  I  have  already  said, 
were  finally  acquired  as  the  result  of  diplomatic  conven 
tion  with  England,  treaty  with  Texas,  and  war  with 
Mexico. 

The  Democratic  party  nominated  Lewis  Cass  for 
President.  The  Whig  party  seized  upon  General  Tay 
lor  as  the  most  available  candidate,  and  placed  him  in 
the  field  without  any  declaration  of  principles  or  any 
pretence  of  a  platform  beyond  his  military  achievements 
in  the  Mexican  War.  The  Northern  Democrats  and 
Whigs  and  men  of  all  shades  of  opinion  who  united  in 
opposition  to  the  extension  of  slavery,  nominated  Martin 
Van  Buren  for  President  and  Charles  Francis  Adams  for 
Vice-President.  The  chief  political  object  in  the  nomi 
nation  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  who  was  endorsed  by  a  con 
vention  of  Democrats  held  at  Utica,  was  to  secure  the 
defeat  of  Cass  in  the  State  of  New  York.  Mr.  Van  Buren, 
while  running  for  the  presidency  on  the  Free-Soil  ticket 
was  able  to  render  this  service  to  freedom  and  to  deliver 
the  vote  of  his  state  to  General  Taylor,  the  result  of  the 
canvass  being  that  Mr.  Van  Buren  received  291,263  votes; 
General  Cass,  1,220,544,  while  General  Taylor's  vote 
was  1,360,099,  a  plurality  of  139,55s.1  Mr.  Van  Buren's 
candidacy  was  on  the  basis  of  his  anti-Texas  letter,  which 
lost  him  the  presidential  nomination  in  1844  and  com 
mitted  him  to  opposition  to  the  extension  of  slavery  into 
free  territory.  He  was,  however,  reluctantly  drawn  into 

1  Edward  M.  Shepard,  "Life  of  Martin  Van  Buren,"  p.  368. 

190 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

the  contest,  and  I  do  not  think  his  heart  was  in  it.  He 
had  been  for  too  long  a  time  the  leader  of  the  Democratic 
party  North  and  South,  pledged  to  the  maintenance  of 
slavery  in  the  Southern  States,  without  interference  by  the 
government,  to  be  a  fit  representative  of  the  growing  sen 
timent  in  the  free  States  against  the  inherent  moral  evil 
of  slavery.  Besides,  he  found  himself  in  strange  com 
pany.  The  vagaries  and  political  antics  of  the  Abolition 
ists  and  Emancipationists  of  all  descriptions  were  not  at 
all  to  his  liking.  Still,  he  led  the  forlorn  hope  in  the 
national  contest  with  dignity,  and  with  success  so  far  as 
the  result  in  New  York  established  his  hold  on  the  De 
mocracy  of  his  own  State.  General  Taylor  was  elected 
by  a  majority  of  thirty-six  in  the  electoral  college,  to  the 
great  disgust  of  the  Cass  Democrats. 

Scott  should  have  been  the  Whig  candidate  instead 
of  Taylor.  He  was  a  master  of  the  science  of  war,  had 
long  held  a  high  reputation,  and  in  politics  had  been  con 
sistent  in  his  attachment  to  the  principles  and  policy  of 
the  Whig  party.  But  he  was  not  popular  with  the  masses 
and  probably  not  fully  trusted  by  the  Southern  Whigs. 
Taylor  was  a  Southern  man  and  possessed  many  ele 
ments  of  popularity.  His  military  record  in  the  Mexican 
War  was  something  of  a  surprise  to  the  American  people. 
"Old  Rough  and  Ready,"  as  he  was  called  by  his  sol 
diers,  furnished  a  name  to  conjure  with  at  mass-meetings 
North  and  South,  and  his  famous  order  to  one  of  his 
subordinates  when  advancing  on  a  Mexican  position, 
"A  little  more  grape,  Captain  Bragg,'*  was  effectively 

IQI 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

applied  in  the  tactics  of  his  presidential  campaign.  No 
man  was  ever  elected  to  the  presidency  of  whom  the 
people  knew  so  little  or  whom  they  trusted  so  blindly. 
He  was  pledged  to  no  platform  or  policy  and  had  little 
practical  knowledge  of  politics. 

The  Free  Soil  party,  aiding  in  the  temporary  defeat 
of  the  slave  power  in  1848,  demonstrated  the  fact  that 
there  were  in  the  North  elements  of  opposition  to  the 
aggressions  of  that  power,  combining  every  shade  of  opin 
ion  and  every  degree  of  hostility.  This  opposition  was 
growing  in  force,  and  was  awaiting  the  time,  for  an  irre 
sistible  uprising  in  favor  of  freedom,  when  the  hour  should 
strike  and  the  man  should  appear.  This  was  not  to  be 
until  1860  and  the  coming  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 


192 


CHAPTER  XIII 

FIRST   LEGAL  CASES — DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD    IN  CALIFORNIA — THE  CASE    OF 

THE  s.  s.  "UNION" — THE  CASE  OF  THE  SHIP  "PACIFIC" — CUSTOM 
HOUSE  CASE — "THE  COLONEL'S  CLUB" — EVERT  AND  GEORGE 
DUYCKINCK — "THE  SEXTON  AND  THE  THERMOMETER." 

THE  early  days  of  1848  found  me  hard  at  work  at  my 
desk  in  the  office  of  the  United  States  Attorney  for 
the  Southern  District  of  New  York.  I  had  looked  for 
ward  with  great  eagerness  to  beginning  my  professional 
work.  Before  I  was  admitted  to  the  bar  I  had  had  some 
little  experience  in  practising  on  the  small  scale  permissible 
to  students.  While  I  was  in  my  father's  office  I  was  in 
the  habit  of  walking  with  my  friend  Duyckinck  from 
Washington  Place  to  Nassau  Street,  making  our  route 
through  Greene  Street  to  Canal,  where,  on  the  south  side, 
a  man  named  Biggar  had  a  shop  for  the  sale  of  books  and 
engravings.  He  had  a  considerable  stock,  and  Duyckinck 
and  I  occasionally  stopped  to  examine  it.  He  had  a 
friend  who  had  a  small  claim  against  a  defaulting  debtor. 
This  claim,  at  Biggar's  recommendation,  was  placed  in 
my  hands  for  collection,  and  I  brought  suit  in  the  court  of 
a  justice  of  the  peace  who  held  his  sessions  in  the  evening 
at  his  house  in  White  Street.  I  tried  my  case  and  won 
it.  Before  the  justice  called  the  next  case  on  the  calen 
dar,  the  plaintiff  in  that  case,  who  had  sat  through  the 

193 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

trial  of  my  issue,  applied  to  me  to  act  for  him,  as  he  had 
come  to  court  without  any  counsel.  Possessing  myself 
of  the  facts,  I  readily  agreed,  nothing  daunted  at  finding 
that  my  opponent  was  the  constable  of  the  court.  When 
I  called  my  first  witness  the  constable  claimed  the  right  to 
examine  him  in  his  voir  dire.  My  legal  studies  had  not 
advanced  so  far  as  to  instruct  me  what  this  kind  of  ex 
amination  meant,  but  I  boldly  assented,  and  was  greatly 
relieved  when  I  found  that  it  related  to  the  interest  of  the 
witness  in  the  subject  of  the  suit,  the  law  at  that  time  ex 
cluding  the  testimony  of  any  one  interested  in  the  result  of 
the  controversy.  The  witness  passed  the  ordeal,  and  I 
had  an  easy  victory  in  my  second  suit. 

I  got  away  from  the  court  room  flushed  with  my 
double  triumph  in  time  to  go  to  an  uptown  evening  party 
at  the  house  of  Judge  Samuel  R.  Betts,  then  and  for 
many  years  afterward,  the  United  States  District  Judge 
in  New  York.  Since  then  I  have  tried  innumerable  cases 
in  the  State  and  Federal  courts,  from  the  lowest  to  the 
highest,  but  I  do  not  think  my  head  was  ever  so  near 
striking  the  stars  as  on  that  memorable  night.  My  first 
five-dollar  fee  I  applied  to  buying  for  my  mother  a  sou 
venir,  a  silver  napkin-ring,  which  still  holds  an  humble 
place  among  the  family  heirlooms. 

My  friend  Biggar  afterward  placed  in  my  hands  an 
affair  of  his  own  and  of  considerable  importance  to  him.  A 
young  man  of  a  highly  respectable  family  was  a  frequenter 
of  his  shop,  and  Biggar  discovered,  after  his  apparently 
desirable  customer  went  away,  that  some  engravings  had 

194 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

simultaneously  disappeared  from  his  portfolio.  His  sus 
picions  being  aroused,  he  had  the  young  man  watched, 
and  soon  possessed  positive  evidence  that  he  was  the 
thief.  Criminal  proceedings  would  have  been  of  no  avail 
to  compensate  Biggar  for  the  loss  of  his  engravings.  Ac 
cordingly,  I  set  on  foot  a  civil  suit  to  recover  their  value, 
and  the  friends  of  the  young  man  lost  no  time  in  making 
good  the  loss  he  had  caused  by  his  misconduct,  occasioned, 
as  we  were  quite  ready  to  believe,  by  a  tendency  to  klepto 
mania. 

All  this  was  playing  at  law.  But  when  I  began  the 
practice  in  dead  earnest,  it  possessed  me  with  a  fascina 
tion  from  which,  after  the  lapse  of  more  than  fifty  years, 
I  find  myself  hardly  disenthralled.  I  was  introduced  at 
once  into  companionships  and  competitions  which  were 
most  exciting  and  inspiring.  A  young  lawyer  in  active 
practice  has  the  immense  advantage  of  learning  from  his 
opponents,  and  in  every  contest,  whether  successful  or  not, 
he  gains  strength  and  experience  for  the  future. 

The  year  1848  was  an  especially  interesting  period. 
Besides  being  a  presidential  year,  with  all  its  attendant 
electioneering  excitements,  it  was  marked  by  the  revolu 
tionary  upheaval  in  Europe,  which  toppled  over  thrones 
and  dynasties,  and  sent  monarchs  into  exile,  from  Pope 
Pius  IX  to  King  Louis  of  Bavaria.  The  discovery  of 
gold  in  California  in  the  same  year  drew  thousands  of 
adventurers  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  They  went  by  land 
across  the  continent  and  by  sea  across  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama,  or  round  Cape  Horn.  Many  men  left  New 

195 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

York  to  settle  in  California  and  became  leading  spirits 
in  that  far-off  Eldorado.  One  of  them  went  from  a  desk 
close  to  mine  in  the  District  Attorney's  office.  He  was  a 
singularly  capable,  painstaking  and  methodical  lawyer, 
the  last  man  who  would  be  supposed  to  have  any  disposi 
tion  for  an  adventurous  quest  for  fame  or  fortune  in  the 
wilds  of  California.  But  one  day  he  quietly  slipped  away, 
and  set  out  for  the  Golden  Gate.  There,  in  the  exer 
cise  of  the  same  qualities  which  he  had  shown  when  we 
worked  side  by  side  in  New  York,  he  acquired  an  honor 
able  place  in  the  new  community  which  he  helped  to  rear. 
There  at  the  present  time  (1899),  in  a  green  old  age,  he  is 
still  enjoying  the  wealth  and  the  repute  which  it  has  been 
his  good  fortune  to  keep.  This  is  William  Barbour,  one 
of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  California. 

Two  of  my  earliest  and  quite  notable  cases  were  con 
nected  with  the  gold-seeking  period.  The  steamship 
Union,  returning  from  California  with  some  passengers 
and  quite  a  large  amount  of  treasure  on  board,  went  ashore 
on  the  western  coast,  some  miles  south  of  San  Francisco, 
and  was  in  danger  of  going  to  pieces  in  the  breakers.  The 
sailors  were  not  under  good  discipline,  and  it  soon  became 
evident  that  they  had  an  eye  to  the  gold  on  board  as  well 
as  to  their  own  safety.  The  passengers,  however,  under 
the  leadership  of  a  New  Englander  who  had,  I  think,  been 
a  school-teacher  or  professor,  united  in  saving  the  lives 
of  the  ship's  company  and  securing  the  treasure  for  the 
owners.  With  great  difficulty  a  cable  was  carried  to  the 
shore  and  fastened  there,  and  by  means  of  ropes  thrown 

196 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

over  this  cable,  boats  went  from  the  ship  to  the  shore,  and 
all  on  board,  as  well  as  the  boxes  of  gold  and  the  ship's 
stores,  were  safely  landed.  Then  the  passengers  stood 
guard  over  the  gold,  and  the  sailors  were  kept  in  order 
until  the  shipwrecked  company  was  rescued  by  a  south 
bound  steamer  and  brought  in  safety  to  New  York.  I 
was  retained  on  behalf  of  the  passengers  to  secure  salvage 
for  their  services  in  saving  and  safeguarding  the  treasure. 
The  underwriters,  who  were  responsible  to  the  owners  of 
the  boat,  resisted  the  claim,  and  I  found  myself  pitted 
against  a  number  of  veteran  lawyers  versed  in  all  the  in 
tricacies  of  the  law  of  marine  insurance,  but  they  yielded 
at  last  and  by  a  fair  settlement  a  handsome  sum  was 
awarded  to  my  clients. 

In  the  other  case,  as  it  turned  out,  I  was  on  the  wrong 
side.  The  owners  of  the  ship  Pacific  put  her  up  for  a 
voyage  from  New  York,  around  Cape  Horn  to  San  Fran 
cisco,  and  advertised  for  passengers.  There  was  a  rush 
to  secure  accommodations.  The  owners  promised  to  fit 
up  the  vessel  so  as  to  give  comfortable  quarters  and  suffi 
cient  space  and  air  and  all  other  convenient  arrangements 
for  the  comfort  of  the  passengers  on  the  long  voyage. 
On  the  eve  of  sailing  some  of  the  passengers  discovered 
that  the  ship  owners  had  violated  their  promise,  and  had 
taken  advantage  of  the  demand  for  accommodations  to 
fit  up  the  vessel  for  a  larger  number  than  she  could  accom 
modate,  and  in  such  a  way  as  made  it  unsafe  to  embark 
in  her;  and  the  passengers  therefore  seized  the  vessel  in  an 
admiralty  suit,  claiming  to  hold  her  liable  in  large  damages. 

197 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

I  defended  the  owners,  and  took  the  ground  that  as  the 
contract  for  fitting  up  the  vessel  was  to  be  performed,  not 
on  the  land  but  on  the  sea,  the  complaining  passengers 
had  no  standing  in  the  admiralty  court  against  the  ship, 
but  must  sue  the  owners  for  breach  of  contract  in  the 
common  law  courts.  This  gave  rise  to  a  long  contest  both 
in  the  United  States  District  Court  and  on  appeal  in  the 
Circuit  Court.  It  was  decided  that  as  the  contract  was  to 
be  performed  at  sea,  although  the  breach  of  it  occurred  on 
land,  the  ship  was  liable  under  the  marine  law,  and  it 
was  condemned  accordingly.1 

Another  case  which  came  to  me  in  the  early  part  of 
my  practice  grew  out  of  a  blunder  of  the  custom-house 
officials  and  gave  rise  to  some  curious  complications. 
There  used  to  be  a  periodical  clearing  out  by  sale  at  auc 
tion  of  goods  which  had  lain  in  the  public  stores  un 
claimed  by  any  one,  and  on  which  no  duties  had  been  paid. 
Such  goods  accumulate  in  the  course  of  time  and  the 
collector  orders  their  sale  after  publishing  a  notice  describ 
ing  them  by  the  marks  and  numbers  on  the  packages.2 
Such  a  sale  was  advertised  to  take  place. 

A  worthy  German,  Stephen  Lutz  by  name,  who  was 
employed  about  the  custom-house,  not  only  by  the  gov 
ernment,  but  by  importers,  in  carting  away  goods,  some 
times  made  purchases  at  these  sales.  On  this  occasion  his 
attention  was  attracted  by  the  appearance  in  the  catalogue 

1  The  Pacific,     i  Blatchford,  p.  569. 

2  As  the  law  then  existed,  goods  were  sold  in  unopened  packages  and  the  pur 
chasers  took  the  risk  and  chance  of  what  they  might  get.     In  this  respect  the 
law  has  since  been  amended. — ED. 

198 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

of  thirteen  cases  described  as  "machinery,"  an  unusually 
large  number  of  packages  to  be  included  in  one  lot  on 
such  a  sale.  He  made  up  his  mind  to  bid  for  them,  not 
having  any  idea  whatever  of  the  contents  of  the  cases, 
but  fancying  that  so  large  a  quantity  of  machinery  must 
have  considerable  value.  Accordingly  he  told  some  of 
his  friends,  who  entered  into  the  venture  with  him,  and 
at  the  sale  Lutz  bid  off  the  thirteen  cases  for  $500,  which 
he  paid.  Having  his  carts  at  hand  he  carried  off  the 
boxes  to  a  vacant  lot  in  the  upper  part  of  the  city,  where 
he  had  arranged  to  open  them,  their  great  size  making  it 
difficult  to  get  them  into  any  ware-room.  Great  was  the 
curiosity  of  the  party  of  buyers  to  discover  what  kind  of 
property  they  had  acquired  by  their  purchase,  and  it  was 
greatly  enhanced  when,  as  case  after  case  was  opened, 
the  machinery  disclosed  was  of  a  kind  which  none  of  them 
could  identify  as  belonging  to  any  known  trade,  business 
or  process.  Finally,  when  some  huge  glass  lenses  of  most 
elaborate  cut  and  construction  were  unwrapped,  they  were 
wholly  at  their  wits'  ends.  After  a  long  consultation  with 
the  best  experts  they  could  employ  the  mystery  was  solved, 
and  they  found  that  they  had  bought  the  entire  apparatus 
of  a  revolving,  catadioptric  Fresnel  lantern  and  light  for  a 
light-house  of  the  first  magnitude.  This  Fresnel  lantern 
had  been  manufactured  in  France  for  the  United  States, 
and  was  intended  for  the  Carysfort  Reef  in  Florida. 

Owing  to  some  unexplained  cross  purposes  between 
the  manufacturers,  their  agents  in  New  York  and  the 
government  officials  the  whole  apparatus  had  remained 

199 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

unrecognized  and  unclaimed  in  the  public  stores.  There 
it  had  been  treated  as  merchandise  of  private  importa 
tion,  waiting  for  its  owner  to  come  forward,  enter  it  and 
pay  the  duties,  in  default  whereof  it  had  been  included 
in  the  clearance  sale. 

The  French  firm  who  were  the  agents  in  New  York  of 
the  manufacturers  soon  awoke  to  the  situation,  and  be 
tween  them  and  the  custom-house  officials  a  prodigious 
hue  and  cry  was  raised  for  the  lost  beacon.  Evidently 
some  one  had  blundered;  and  in  the  eagerness  to  cover 
up  the  blunder,  the  injustice  was  committed  of  charging 
Stephen  Lutz  and  his  associates  with  a  crime.  They  had 
known  all  along,  so  it  was  alleged,  what  these  thirteen 
cases  of  machinery  contained  and  by  the  aid  of  allies  in 
the  government  service  had  contrived  to  possess  them 
selves  of  this  great  prize.  While  this  was  wholly  untrue, 
it  served  as  a  justification  for  ignoring  any  right  or  equity, 
on  the  part  of  the  purchasers,  for  a  return  of  the  $500 
which  they  had  paid,  and  which  had  come  into  the  United 
States  Treasury,  and  for  a  summary  seizure  of  the  entire 
apparatus  by  the  United  States  Marshal  under  a  writ  of 
replevin  sued  out  in  the  name  of  the  United  States. 

In  these  straits  Lutz  came  to  our  office.  We  could  not 
retake  the  property,  but  we  defended  the  suit,  and,  finding 
that  our  client  and  his  friends  were  treated  as  wrongdoers 
and  conspirators,  determined  to  make  the  best  fight  we 
possibly  could  to  establish  that  they  were  innocent  pur 
chasers,  and  had  got  a  good  title  to  what  they  had  bought 
at  a  public  sale.  So  we  began  a  counter  suit  in  equity 

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A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

against  the  collector  and  prayed  for  an  injunction  to  re 
strain  him  from  parting  with  the  possession  of  the  prop 
erty  until  the  determination  of  the  suit  in  which  it  had  been 
seized  and  taken  away  from  Lutz.  Having  got  the  matter 
in  such  shape  that  Lutz  was  protected  in  his  rights,  if  he 
had  any,  then  came  the  question  whether  he  had  any 
rights.  The  light-house  apparatus  had  been  imported  for 
the  use  of  the  United  States,  and  it  was  claimed,  on  behalf 
of  the  government,  that  being  therefore  exempt  from  pay 
ment  of  duty,  the  collector  had  no  right  to  treat  it  as  dutia 
ble  and  no  power  to  sell  it  for  non-payment  of  duty  or  to 
give  any  right  or  title  to  a  purchaser.  We  set  up  two 
grounds  of  defense:  first,  that  while  the  Tariff  Act  of 
1842  had  provided  that  goods  imported  for  the  use  of 
the  United  States  should  be  exempt  from  duty,  this  provi 
sion  had  been  omitted  in  the  Act  of  1846,  which  repealed 
that  of  1842  leaving  all  goods,  public  and  private,  to  the 
operation  of  the  custom  laws;  and,  second,  that  the 
government,  having  got  our  money,  could  not  retake 
the  property  without,  at  least,  refunding  the  purchase 
price. 

The  court  decided  that  as  the  property  belonged  to  the 
sovereign  power,  no  duty  was  chargeable  or  collectable; 
the  collector  had  no  power  to  make  the  sale;  the  purchaser, 
however  innocent,  got  no  title;  and  the  government  was 
not  obliged  to  refund  the  money  voluntarily  paid  to  it. 
The  fact  that  the  Tariff  Act  of  1846  did  not  exempt  the 
goods  from  duty  was  immaterial.  No  statute  was  re 
quired  in  aid  of  the  sovereign  right  of  the  people  of  the 

201 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

United  States.  Strange  to  say,  while  this  question  had 
been  argued  by  Mr.  J.  Prescott  Hall,  the  United  States 
District  Attorney,  for  the  government,  and  by  my  father, 
who  was  senior  counsel,  for  Lutz,  and  had  been  decided 
by  Judge  Nelson  on  the  assumption  that  there  was  no  law 
applicable  to  it,  the  omission  in  the  Act  of  1846  had  been 
supplied  by  a  provision  tacked  on  to  a  subsequent  Naval 
Appropriation  Bill,  of  which  both  counsel  and  Court  were 
wholly  ignorant.1 

When  not  actually  engaged  in  my  professional  duties, 
I  could  not  turn  wholly  aside  from  literature  and  literary 
associates.  I  carried  on  for  some  time  a  series  of  papers 
on  current  topics  under  the  title  of  "The  Colonel's  Club." 
In  this  first  appeared  "The  Carnival  of  1848,"  in  which, 
with  perhaps  more  truth  than  poetry,  I  chronicled  the  wild 
revolutionary  changes  which  the  whirligig  of  revolution 
was  setting  in  frantic  motion.  To  this  series  also  belongs 
"The  New  Argonauts,"  which  is  a  realistic  picture  of  the 
rush  of  the  gold-seekers  to  the  Pacific  coast. 

My  friend,  George  Duyckinck,  who  had  remained  in 
Europe  after  I  sailed  for  home,  returned  and  resumed  his 
residence  with  his  brother  Evert  at  No.  20  Clinton  Place, 
not  far  from  my  own  home.  Their  library,  which  con 
tained  a  choice  collection  of  books,  especially  rich  in 
English  drama  and  dramatic  works  (now  in  the  posses 
sion  of  the  Lenox  Library),  was  a  rendezvous  for  men 
of  like  tastes  as  themselves.  They  were  publishing,  at 
that  time,  The  Literary  World,  a  weekly  journal  of  liter- 

1  Reported  2  Blatchford,  p.  383. 

2O2 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

ature  and  art  to  which  I  became  a  contributor,  and  in 
which,  on  March  24,  1849,  appeared  "The  Sexton  and 
the  Thermometer."  In  this  poem,  which  at  once  attained 
a  certain  sort  of  popularity,  I  rendered  in  rhyme  a  story 
which  Evert  Duyckinck  had  told  me  about  Brown,  the 
famous  sexton  of  Grace  Church,  then  in  the  height  of 
his  prestige.  He  figured  in  the  poem  as  Diggory  Pink. 
Brown  admitted  the  truth  of  the  whole  tale,  except  the 
closing  passage,  in  which  he  was  made  the  recipient  of  a 
fee  for  raising  the  mercury  40  degrees. 

THE   SEXTON   AND   THE  THERMOMETER 

A  building  there  is,  well  known,  I  conjecture, 

To  all  the  admirers  of  church  architecture, 

Flaunting  and  fine,  at  the  bend  of  Broadway, 

Cathedral-like,  gorgeous,  and  Gothic,  and  gay, 

Soaring  sublimely,  just  as  it  should, 

With  its  turrets  of  marble,  and  steeple  of  wood, 

And  windows  so  brilliant  and  polychromatic, 

Through  which  the  light  wanders  with  colors  erratic — 

Now,  golden  and  red  on  the  cushions  reposes, 

Now,  yellow  and  green  on  parishioners'  noses; 

While,  within  and  without,  the  whole  edifice  glitters 

With  grandeur  in  patches,  and  splendor  in  fritters; 

With  its  parsonage  "fixed"  in  the  style  of  the  Tudors, 

And,  by  way  of  example  to  all  rash  intruders, 

Its  solid  dead  wall,  built  up  at  great  labor 

To  cut  off  the  windows  cut  out  by  its  neighbor — 

An  apt  illustration,  and  always  in  sight, 

Of  the  way  that  the  Church  sometimes  shuts  out  the  Light!  * 

1  This  "dead  wall"  has  long  since  been  taken  down  and  replaced  by  a  hand 
some  gothic  wall,  with  windows,  on  the  north  side  of  the  church  enclosure. 

203 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

Now  it  chanced  at  the  time  of  the  present  relation, 
Not  a  century  back  from  this  generation, 
When,  just  as  in  these  days,  the  world  was  divided, 
And  some  people  this  way  and  that  way  decided, 
And  like  silly  questions  the  public  was  vexed  on, 
One  DIGGORY  PINK  of  this  church  was  the  sexton. 
None  of  your  sextons  grave,  gloomy,  and  gruff, 
Bell-ringers,  pew-openers,  takers  of  snuff, 

Dusters  of  cushions  and  sweepers  of  aisles, 
But  a  gentleman  sexton,  ready  enough 

For  bows  and  good  manners,  sweet  speeches  and  smiles; 
A  gentleman,  too,  of  such  versatility, 
In  his  vocation  of  so  much  agility, 
Blest  with  such  wit  and  uncommon  facility, 
That  his  sextonship  rose,  by  the  means  he  invented, 
To  a  post  of  importance  quite  unprecedented. 
No  mere  undertaker  was  he,  or  to  make 
The  statement  more  clear,  for  veracity's  sake, 
There  was  nothing  at  all  he  did  not  undertake; 
Discharging  at  once  such  a  complex  variety 
Of  functions  pertaining  to  genteel  society, 
As  gave  him  with  every  one  great  notoriety; 
Blending  his  care  of  the  church  and  the  cloisters 
With  funerals,  fancy  balls,  suppers,  and  oysters, 
Dinners  for  aldermen,  parties  for  brides, 
And  a  hundred  and  fifty  arrangements  besides; 
Great  as  he  was  at  a  funeral,  greater 
As  master  of  feasts,  purveyor,  gustator, 
Little  less  than  the  host,  but  far  more  than  the  waiter. 
Very  brisk  was  his  business,  because,  in  advance, 
Pink  was  sure  of  his  patron  whatever  might  chance. 
If  the  turtle  he  served  agreed  with  him,  then 
At  the  next  entertainment  he  fed  him  again; 
If  it  killed  him,  Pink  grieved  at  the  sudden  reversal, 
But  shifting  his  part,  with  a  rapid  rehearsal, 
With  all  that  was  richest  in  pall  and  in  plumes, 

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A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

Conveyed  him,  in  state,  to  the  grandest  of  tombs. 

Thus  whatever  befell  him,  gout,  fever,  or  cough, 

It  was  Pink,  in  reality,  carried  him  off; 

The  magical  Pink,  as  well  skilled  in  adorning 

The  houses  of  feasting  as  houses  of  mourning, 

For  'twas  all  the  same  thing,  on  his  catholic  plan, 

If  he  laid  out  the  money,  or  laid  out  the  man. 

But  most  with  the  ladies  his  power  was  supreme, 

Of  disputing  his  edicts  nobody  would  dream, 

For  'twas  generally  known  that  Pink  kept  the  key 

Of  the  very  selectest  society; 

Parvenus  bribed  him  to  get  on  his  list; 

Woe  to  the  man  whom  his  fiat  dismissed! 

The  best  thing  he  could  do  was  to  cease  to  exist, 

And  retire  from  a  world  where  he  wouldn't  be  missed. 

Thus,  plying  all  trades,  but  still  keeping  their  balance 

By  his  quick,  ready  wit  and  pre-eminent  talents, 

His  life  might  present,  in  its  manifold  texture, 

An  emblem  quite  apt  of  the  church  architecture, 

Which  unites,  in  its  grouping  of  sculpture  and  column, 

A  great  deal  that's  comic  with  much  that  is  solemn! 

One  Sunday,  Friend  Pink,  who  all  night  had  been  kept 

At  a  ball  in  the  Avenue,  quite  overslept, 

And  though  to  the  church  instanter  he  rushed, 

His  breakfast  untasted,  his  beaver  unbrushed, 

He  reached  it  so  late  that  he  barely  had  time 

To  kindle  the  fires,  when  a  neighboring  chime 

(For  'tis  thus  that  all  church-bells  must  figure  in  rhyme) 

Proclaimed  that  the  hour  for  the  service  was  near; 

And,  as  ill-luck  would  have  it,  though  sunny  and  clear, 

'Twas  the  coldest  of  all  the  cold  days  in  the  year. 

Poor  Pink,  if  some  artist,  with  pencil  or  pen, 
Had  been  on  the  spot  to  sketch  him  just  then, 
As  bewilderment  drove  him  first  here  and  then  there, 

205 


WILLIAM   ALLEN   BUTLER 

From  chancel  and  transept  to  gallery  stair, 
Now  down  in  the  vaults,  and  now  out  in  the  air, 
Might  have  stood  as  a  model  of  Utter  Despair, 
Whose  crowning  expression  his  countenance  wore 
As  he  paused,  for  a  moment,  within  the  grand  door, 
And  glanced  at  a  gentleman,  portly  and  neat, 
Advancing  quite  leisurely  up  from  Tenth  Street. 
"Mr.  Foldrum  is  coming;   oh!   what  shall  I  do? 
He's  got  a  thermometer  hung  in  his  pew! 
As  sure  as  it's  there,  and  the  mercury  in  it, 
He'll  find  what  the  temperature  is  in  a  minute; 
And  being  a  vestryman,  isn't  it  clear 
That  minute  will  cost  me  a  thousand  a  year?" 

But  luck,  luck,  wonderful  luck! 

Which  never  deserts  men  of  genuine  pluck, 

No  matter  how  deep  in  the  mire  they  are  stuck, 

In  this  very  crisis  of  trouble  and  pain, 

With  a  brilliant  idea  illumined  his  brain; 

Down  the  aisle,  like  a  cannon-ball,  Diggory  flew, 

Snatched  the  thermometer  out  of  the  pew, 

And  then  plunged  it,  bodily,  into  the  fire 

Of  the  nearest  furnace,  just  by  the  choir; 

Soon  to  100  the  mercury  rose, 

And  Pink,  stealing  quietly  back  on  tiptoes, 

Hung  it  up  stealthily,  on  the  brass  nail, 

Just  as  Foldrum  was  entering,  under  full  sail. 

The  church  was  as  chilly  and  cold  and  cavernous 
As  the  regions  of  ice  round  the  shores  of  Avernus; 
Like  icebergs,  pilasters  and  columns  were  gleaming, 
While  pendants  and  mouldings  seemed  icicles  streaming. 
Foldrum  shivered  all  over,  and  really  looked  blue, 
As  he  opened  the  door  and  went  into  his  pew, 
Then  clapping  his  spectacles  firmly  his  nose  on, 
Took  down  the  thermometer,  surely  supposing 

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A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

The  glass  would  be  cracked  and  the  mercury  frozen. 
No  such  thing  at  all;   but,  surprising  to  view, 
The  mercury  stood  at  72! 

It  had  never  deceived  him,  that  great  regulator, 
Not  once  to  the  atmosphere  proved  itself  traitor; 
Had  it  fallen  to  zero,  on  the  equator, 

He  had  shivered  all  over  and  doubted  it  not; 
Or  if,  upon  Greenland's  iciest  shore, 
It  had  happened  to  rise  to  80,  or  more, 

Had  thrown  off  his  bearskin  and  sworn  it  was  hot. 
"  Place  me,"  might  he  cry,  with  the  poet  of  old, 
"In  the  hottest  of  heat  or  the  coldest  of  cold, 
On  Lybian  sands,  or  Siberian  barren  height, 
You  never  shall  shake  my  faith  in  my  Fahrenheit!" 

'Twas  charming  to  see,  then  (Pink  watched  him  with  care), 

What  a  wonderful  change  came  over  his  air — 

How  he  rubbed  both  his  hands,  and  a  genial  glow 

Came  flooding  his  cheeks  like  a  sunbeam  on  snow; 

How  quickly  he  doffed  both  his  scarf  and  his  coat, 

Unbuttoned  his  waistcoat  down  from  the  throat, 

And  stifling  a  sort  of  shiver  spasmodic, 

With  assumptions  of  warmth,  very  clear  and  methodic, 

And  with  all  sorts  of  genial  and  satisfied  motions, 

With  fervor  engaged  in  his  usual  devotions. 

Just  then  enter  Doldrum, 

Who  sits  behind  Foldrum, 
And  gauges  himself,  from  beginning  to  end 
Of  the  year,  by  his  old  thermometrical  friend, 
Well  knowing  that  he  takes  his  practical  cue 
From  the  mercury,  hanging  up  there  in  his  pew, 
And  can't  make  the  mistakes  that  some  people  do. 
So  off  goes  his  pilot-cloth,  spite  of  the  cold  or 
A  twinge  of  rheumatics  in  his  left  shoulder; 
'Twas  freezing,  'twas  dreadful,  it  must  be  confessed, 

207 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

But  there  sat  Squire  Foldrum,  who  surely  knew  best, 
With  his  overcoat  off  and  an  unbuttoned  vest! 
What's  mercury  made  for,  except  by  its  ranges 
To  declare,  without  fail,  atmospherical  changes? 

At  the  door  the  friends  met.     "  Cold  in  church,  was  it  not?" 

Says  Doldrum.     "Oh  no!   on  the  contrary,  hot; 

Thermometer  70;  with  these  high  ceilings 

You  must  go  by  the  mercury — can't  trust  your  feelings. 

Take  a  glass,  after  dinner,  of  Old  Bourbon  whiskey, 

Nothing  like  it  to  keep  the  blood  active  and  frisky, 

If  you're  cold,  but  the  air  was  quite  spring-like  and  mellow; 

Why,  Doldrum,  you're  growing  old  fast,  my  dear  fellow!" 

But  on  Tuesday  the  joke  was  all  over  the  town; 

Pink  enjoyed  it  so  much  that  he  noted  it  down, 

And,  thinking  it  shouldn't  be  laid  on  the  shelf, 

At  the  risk  of  his  place,  he  told  it  himself 

To  one  of  the  vestry,  to  use  at  discretion; 

And  in  very  short  time  'twas  in  public  possession. 

Foldrum  heard  of  it,  too;  saw  how  it  was  done, 

And  felt  that  he  owed  the  sexton  one. 

Next  Sunday  he  paid  him.     "Pink,"  said  he, 

"I  owe  you  a  dollar;   here,  take  your  fee." 

"A  dollar,  sir?  no,  sir;  what  for,  if  you  please?" 

"  For  raising  the  mercury  forty  degrees! 

Extra  service  like  this  deserves  extra  pay, 

Especially  done,  as  this  was,  on  Sunday. 

So  pocket  the  cash,  without  further  remark; 

But,  Pink,  for  the  future,  just  mind  and  keep  dark." 

"Thank  you,  sir,"  said  the  sexton;  "I'm  not  a  dull  scholar, 

So,  if  you  take  the  joke,  why,  I'll  take  the  dollar!" 


208 


CHAPTER  XIV 

RETURN  OF  BENJAMIN  F.  BUTLER  TO  NEW  YORK — LAW  OFFICE  IN  WALL 
STREET — A  SUPPLY  OF  OFFICE  BOYS — SUCCESSIVE  LAW  FIRMS — HIRAM 
BARNEY — ACCOUNT  OF  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE — GENERAL  TAYLOR — 
HENRY  CLAY — HIS  COMPROMISE — JOHN  C.  CALHOUN — DANIEL  WEB 
STER — HIS  SEVENTH  OF  MARCH  SPEECH — INDIGNATION  IN  THE  NORTH 
— WHITTIER'S  "ICHABOD" — DEATH  OF  PRESIDENT  TAYLOR — COM 
PROMISE  OF  1850. 

THE  active  part  which  my  father  took  in  the  presi 
dential  campaign  of  1848,  in  favor  of  Van  Buren 
and  Adams  in  opposition  to  Cass  and  Butler  necessarily 
led  to  a  rupture  with  President  Polk,  and  before  the  elec 
tion  my  father's  official  relations  with  the  government  had 
been  terminated.  Leaving  the  old  brick  building  at  the 
north  extremity  of  the  Park,  where  the  Federal  offices 
were  installed,  long  since  destroyed  by  fire  and  replaced  by 
the  County  Court  House,  my  father  and  I  removed  to  Wall 
Street,  and  took  two  rooms  on  the  third  floor  of  No.  29, 
which  has  also  gone  out  of  existence,  and  is  now  replaced 
by  the  Leather  Manufacturers'  National  Bank.  My 
father's  business  was  chiefly  that  of  counsel  in  cases 
brought  to  him  by  attorneys  in  behalf  of  their  clients. 
This,  of  course,  was  of  no  direct  advantage  to  me,  but 
my  hope  was  to  gain  a  clientage  and  to  build  up  a  practice 
by  my  own  efforts  with  his  valuable  aid.  I  had  youth, 

209 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

good  health,  a  passion  for  hard  work  and  a  tolerable 
equipment  for  professional  competitions.  All  I  wanted 
was  opportunity  and  an  office  boy. 

The  office  boy  came  first.  Having  moved  into  my  new 
rooms  and  hung  my  shingle  on  the  outer  wall  of  No.  29 
Wall  Street,  I  advertised  for  this  indispensable  incumbent. 
The  science  of  advertising  "Wants"  had  not  been  brought 
to  its  present  perfection,  and  in  my  simplicity  I  gave  my 
office  address,  inviting  application  there.  The  following 
morning,  as  I  alighted  from  the  Broadway  omnibus 
which  had  brought  me  to  the  head  of  Wall  Street,  I  no 
ticed  an  unusual  number  of  boys,  and  as  I  descended  to 
ward  Broad  Street,  the  number  was  perceptibly  increased. 
Upon  coming  nearer  to  No.  29  Wall  Street  it  had  grown 
to  a  crowd,  surging  upon  and  about  the  front  steps  and 
massed  on  the  two  flights  of  stairs  leading  to  my  own 
office.  It  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  I  could 
make  my  way  through  the  mass  of  boys,  to  whom,  in  my 
folly,  I  had  made  possible  this  invasion,  not  only  of  my 
own  but  also  of  my  neighbor's  premises.  I  was  imme- 
dately  recognized  by  the  whole  body  of  boys  as  the  ad 
vertiser.  "Here  he  is,"  went  up  and  down  the  line. 
To  deliberate  was  to  be  lost.  I  forced  a  passage  through 
the  dense  mass,  unlocked  my  door,  rushed  in  and  relocked 
it  on  the  inside.  After  holding  a  minute's  counsel  with 
myself  upon  the  problem — not  how  to  get  an  office  boy  but 
how  to  get  rid  of  a  legion  of  them — my  mind  was  made  up. 
Unlocking  the  door  and  calling  the  nearest  available  boy, 
I  engaged  him  at  once,  and  opening  the  door  on  a  crack 

210 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

called  out  that  I  had  a  boy.  It  took  a  long  while  for  the 
juveniles  to  realize  the  situation  and  disperse.  My  chance 
capture  proved  a  success.  Charles,  I  believe  that  was 
his  name,  was  industrious,  faithful,  and  devoted  to  my 
interests  as  long  as  he  remained  with  me. 

Following  the  office  boy,  came  the  opportunity.  One 
day  an  elderly  man  with  striking  appearance,  more  cleri 
cal  than  commercial  in  his  garb  and  manner,  called  on  my 
father  and  engaged  him  in  a  long  interview.  This  visitor 
was  Lewis  Tappan,  then  and  afterward  conspicuous  for 
his  strong  anti-slavery  views  and  efforts,  and  for  the  part 
he  took  as  a  leader  of  the  Abolition  party,  in  opposition 
to  the  slave  power,  and  withal  a  shrewd  and  successful 
business  man.  Both  he  and  his  brother,  Arthur  Tappan, 
were  men  of  high  repute  and  commanding  influence. 
Lewis  Tappan's  son-in-law  was  Hiram  Barney,  of  the  law 
firm  of  Barney  &  Mitchell.  He  was  essentially  an  office 
lawyer,  and  never  went  into  court  for  the  trial  or  argu 
ment  of  cases.  Mr.  Mitchell  had  suddenly  died,  leaving 
Mr.  Barney  with  a  large  business  on  his  hands  and  in 
pressing  need  of  competent  professional  aid  for  its  man 
agement,  especially  in  litigated  cases.  Mr.  Tappan's 
errand  was  to  acquaint  my  father  with  these  facts,  and  to 
propose  an  alliance  on  his  part  with  Mr.  Barney.  He 
brought  them  together  and  I  was  included  in  the  nego 
tiations.  My  father  assumed  the  position  of  counsel  to 
the  new  business,  and  I  was  placed  in  charge  of  its  man 
agement  in  court  and  in  all  ordinary  litigation.  We 
formed  the  firm  of  Barney  &  Butler,  and  to  avoid  start- 

211 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

ing  its  business  on  the  ist  of  April,  selected  the  3ist  of 
March  for  the  commencement  of  the  partnership.1 

This  was  the  beginning  of  a  succession  of  firms  of 
which  I  have  been  a  member  from  that  day  to  the  present 
time.  My  father,  whose  co-operation  and  aid  had  been 
of  immense  service  to  me  at  the  outset,  soon  withdrew 
from  any  relation  with  Mr.  Barney  and  myself,  except 
that  of  occasional  counsel,  although  he  retained  his  office 
with  us  until  his  death  in  1858.  Mr.  Barney  and  I  went 
on  together  until  November  i,  1851,  when  Mr.  James 
Humphrey  of  Brooklyn,  joined  us  and  our  firm  of  Bar 
ney,  Humphrey  &  Butler  continued  until  after  Mr. 
Humphrey's  election  to  Congress,  when  he  withdrew  on 
January  i,  1859,  an^  Mr.  George  W.  Parsons  came  in. 
This  firm  of  Barney,  Butler  &  Parsons  continued  until 
the  retirement  of  Mr.  Barney  and  Mr.  Parsons  in  1873. 
The  firm  then  became  Butler,  Stillman  &  Hubbard,  com 
posed  of  Thomas  E.  Stillman,  Thomas  H.  Hubbard,  and 
myself,  and  in  1880  John  Notman,  Adrian  H.  Joline, 
Wilhelmus  Mynderse  and  my  son  William  Allen  Butler, 
Jr.,  became  partners.  On  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Still 
man  and  General  Hubbard  in  1896,  the  present  firm  of 
Butler,  Notman,  Joline  &  Mynderse  came  into  being.2 

1  For  the  first  few  months  my  father's  office  was  in  Wall  Street.  He  after 
wards  moved  to  in  Broadway,  the  Trinity  Building,  which  had  been  recently 
erected  just  north  of  Trinity  Church  and  which  was  torn  down  in  1906,  being  re 
placed  by  the  present  handsome  structure  of  the  same  name.  In  1887  ms  offices 
were  transferred  to  the  Central  Trust  Company  Building,  54  Wall  Street. — ED. 

1  After  my  father's  death  the  firm  name  continued  the  same  until  the  with 
drawal  of  Mr.  Joline,  which  took  place  January  i,  1905,  at  which  date  the  firm 
of  Butler,  Notman,  Joline  &  Mynderse  ceased 

With  my  brother,  William  Allen  Butler,  Jr.,  who  had  been  a  partner  since 

212 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

The  French  proverb  that  it  is  the  unexpected  that  hap 
pens  was  never  more  applicable  than  to  the  circumstances 
which,  as  I  have  related  them  above,  brought  me  into 
contact  and  close  relations  with  Mr.  Barney.  They  gave 
me  what  I  wanted — a  chance  in  my  profession.  Mr. 
Barney,  partly  through  the  influence  of  the  Tappans  and 
largely  by  his  own  professional  ability,  particularly  as  a 
manager  of  affairs  and  negotiator  in  differences  between 
business  men,  had  a  large  clientage  of  the  best  character 
and  had  many  active  litigations  in  progress  when  I 
joined  him.  I  had  then  as  much  as  I  could  do  to 
keep  pace  with  the  necessities  of  the  business  which  had 
so  suddenly  fallen  into  my  hands.  Mr.  Barney,  as  I  have 
said,  never  went  into  court.  He  was  not  a  student  of  the 
law  as  it  was  contained  in  books.  He  answered  very 
much  to  the  description  of  the  lawyer  who  said  he  was 
not  much  of  a  lawyer,  but  he  was  a  good  judge  of  the  law. 
Mr.  Barney  never  drew  pleadings  or  prepared  legal  briefs, 
but  he  was  one  of  the  best  and  most  careful  of  draftsmen 
in  preparing  contracts  and  other  papers  requiring  a 
knowledge  of  legal  principles  and  foresight  in  their  appli 
cation,  and  he  was  very  quick  and  clear  in  apprehending 
legal  relations  and  rights,  and  most  fertile  in  suggesting 
remedies.  I  recall  a  case  most  complicated  in  its  entan 
glements  and  in  the  legal  questions  involved,  which  I 

1880,  the  firm  was  continued  under  the  name  of  Butler,  Notman  &  Mynderse, 
until  it  was  dissolved  by  the  deaths  of  Mr.  Mynderse,  which  occurred  on  No- 
vembei  15,  1906  and  of  Mr.  Notman,  which  occurred  on  January  6,  1907. 

On  June  5,  1907,  Hon.  William  J.  Wallace,  late  presiding  justice  of  the 
United  States  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals,  was  invited  to  join  the  firm,  and  its 
name  became  Wallace,  Butler  &  Brown,  with  offices  at  54  Wall  Street. — ED. 

2I3 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

tried  and  argued  with  great  attendant  study  and  no  little 
doubt.  I  stated  it  to  him  at  an  early  stage.  He  took  a 
sheet  of  foolscap  and  jotted  down  what  he  thought  were 
the  legal  propositions  involved  and  their  solutions,  antic 
ipating  by  his  statement  the  final  result  as  declared  in 
my  favor  by  the  decision  of  the  court. 

As  I  was  wholly  independent  in  the  conduct  of  our 
business  and  as  the  possibilities  of  its  growth  and  enlarge 
ment  revealed  themselves  to  me,  I  foresaw  what  it  was 
possible  to  attain  by  a  wise  use  of  the  means  within  our 
reach.  In  a  letter  written  by  me,  May  18,  1900,  to  the 
John  Marshall  Club,  of  Rochester,  in  answer  to  a  request 
for  some  account  of  my  professional  life,  I  alluded  to  that 
part  of  my  experience  which  related  to  the  development 
of  my  business  on  what  may  be  called  its  commercial  side, 
writing  in  part  as  follows: 

"When  I  commenced  practice  the  chief  business  of 
the  profession  in  the  City  of  New  York  was  collecting 
debts  for  dry  goods  merchants  and  other  commercial 
houses.  We  had  our  share  of  this  business,  which  was 
largely  carried  on  in  the  local  Court  of  Common  Pleas  and 
in  the  New  York  Superior  Court,  of  which  Thomas  J. 
Oakley  was  Chief  Justice,  and  which  obtained  a  high 
repute  for  its  decisions  on  questions  of  commercial  law. 

"I  early  formed  the  idea  that  the  successful  practice 
of  law  in  our  chief  metropolitan  center  required  the  use, 
to  a  certain  extent,  of  commercial  methods,  foremost 
among  which  were  the  delegation  to  competent  subordi 
nates  of  all  matters  not  requiring  the  personal  attention 
of  the  partners;  the  separation  of  moneys  belonging  to, 
or  collected  for,  clients  from  the  moneys  of  the  firm;  im 
mediate  settlement  with  clients  for  moneys  received  on 

214. 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

their  account;  no  accounting  between  partners,  all  sums 
received  from  every  source  being  turned  over  to  the 
cashier,  by  whom  all  disbursements  were  made,  and  divi 
dends  declared  only  out  of  ascertained  profits.  In  addi 
tion  to  these  rules,  another,  followed  with  almost  unvary 
ing  regularity,  has  been  the  recruiting  of  the  partnership 
from  within  and  not  from  without,  so  that  my  partners 
have  been  almost  without  exception  trained  in  my  own 
office.  I  do  not  claim  any  particular  originality  in  the 
methods  thus  indicated,  but  I  speak  of  them  because  they 
have  proved  successful  in  the  building  up  of  a  large  prac 
tice,  continuing  without  interruption  for  half  a  century, 
requiring  the  labors  of  six  or  seven  partners  and  of  three 
times  as  many  assistants  and  clerks. 

"When  I  came  to  the  bar  there  were  many  distin 
guished  counsel  to  whom  the  younger  members  of  the 
profession  looked  up  with  deserved  respect  and  it  was 
considered  almost  indispensable  to  secure  the  aid  of  these 
veterans  as  seniors  in  contested  cases.  I  found  an  ad 
vantage  in  trying  and  arguing  my  own  cases,  and  that  in 
the  court  of  last  resort  the  knowledge  and  experience 
gained  in  the  court  below  was  of  great  advantage  in  the 
final  argument,  especially  as  against  an  opposing  counsel 
brought  into  the  case  without  any  previous  knowledge  of 
it  in  its  earlier  stages. 

"As  business  increased  we  found  new  connections  in 
banking,  insurance  and  other  corporations  formed  by 
our  clients  and  opening  large  fields  for  professional  activ 
ity,  while  the  enlarged  foreign  commerce  of  the  country 
greatly  multiplied  cases  coming  within  the  Federal  juris 
diction.  My  connection  with  the  Admiralty  bar  gave  me 
the  opportunity  of  aiding  in  establishing  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Admiralty  courts  under  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  upon  the  basis  of  the  ancient  maritime  law 
of  continental  Europe  as  distinguished  from  the  circum 
scribed  statutory  law  of  England;  and,  in  a  series  of  cases 
in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  I  succeeded  in 
having  the  original  rules  of  the  maritime  law  applied  in 
their  integrity  to  the  cases  involved.  A  notable  instance 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

of  this  was  the  case  of  the  'Scotland'  (105  U.  S.  24),  where 
an  English  steamer  of  that  name  had  run  down  and  sunk 
a  British  bark,  loaded  with  a  cargo  of  guano,  a  short  dis 
tance  outside  of  the  port  of  New  York.  Both  vessels  were 
destroyed  by  the  collision.  I  claimed  that  by  the  mari 
time  law  the  'Scotland,'  although  in  fault  for  trie  collision, 
was  exempt  from  liability,  having  been  herself  rendered 
valueless  by  the  disaster.  The  District  and  Circuit 
Courts  decided  against  her  owners  and  held  them  liable 
for  the  full  amount  of  the  loss,  but  the  Supreme  Court,  on 
appeal,  reversed  the  decree  below,  and  applying  the  mari 
time  rule,  held  that  the  total  loss  of  the  offending  vessel 
relieved  the  owners  from  all  liability.  Other  cases  affirm 
ing  the  principle  of  the  maritime  law  as  a  part  of  the 
Federal  jurisprudence  are  the  'Lottawana '  (21  Wallace  558) 
the  'Pennsylvania'  (19  id.  125)  and  the  'Montana'  (129 
U.  S.  397). 

"As  counsel  for  many  years  of  the  Board  of  Commis 
sioners  of  Pilots  of  the  State  charged  with  the  licensing 
and  regulating  of  pilots  and  pilotage  and  also  with  pre 
venting  encroachments  on  the  harbor  of  New  York,  I 
was  able  to  assist  that  board  of  State  officers  in  the  exer 
cise  of  their  very  important  powers.  The  act  constituting 
the  board  provided  for  the  election  of  its  members  by  the 
New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the  New  York 
Board  of  Marine  Underwriters,  thus  keeping  it  out  of 
politics  and  confiding  the  election  of  its  members  to  men 
peculiarly  fitted  for  the  discharge  of  such  a  duty.  This 
somewhat  anomalous  mode  of  creating  a  board  of  State 
officers  was  challenged  as  unconstitutional,  but  it  was  up 
held  by  the  Court  of  Appeals  in  Sturgis  v.  Spofford  (45 
N.  Y.  446).  _ 

"I  have  instanced  the  above  as  possessing  some  points 
of  public  interest  and  I  might  refer  to  many  other  cases 
of  more  or  less  importance;  but  the  bulk  of  my  pro 
fessional  service  has  been  for  private  clients  and  in  pro 
tection  of  their  rights  and  interests." 

To  return  to  the  year  1848. 

216 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

Congress  met  for  the  short  session  in  December.  The 
Whig  party,  elated  by  its  triumph  at  the  polls  in  November, 
was  as  eager  to  gather  its  fruits  as  if  the  maxim  "To  the 
victors  belong  the  spoils"  had  been  of  Whig  instead  of 
Democratic  origin,  and  looked  forward  to  the  incoming 
administration  with  great  expectations.  In  Congress 
nothing  was  accomplished  except  endless  discussion  and 
debate,  and  the  4th  of  March,  1849,  arrived  with  out  any 
solution  of  the  problem  affecting  California  and  New 
Mexico. 

Soon  after  General  Taylor  had  assumed  the  duties 
of  Chief  Magistrate  and  surrounded  himself  with  a 
Cabinet  of  conservative  Whigs,  it  became  apparent  that, 
although  a  Southern  man  and  a  slave-holder,  he  would 
tolerate  no  disloyalty  to  the  Union  or  to  the  Federal 
government.  The  threats  of  secession  and  dissolution 
of  the  Union,  with  which  the  ultra-slavery  men  of  the 
South  filled  the  political  atmosphere  of  Washington,  sur 
prised  and  alarmed  him.  He  was  a  soldier,  and  a  patriot, 
and  he  was  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy  of 
the  United  States.  He  had  no  sympathy  with  sentiments 
or  schemes  which  endangered  the  stability  of  the  Union; 
and  he  gave  the  Southern  fire-eaters  distinctly  to  under 
stand  that  he  would  tolerate  no  acts  endangering  the 
peace  of  the  country,  and  in  case  of  need  would  march  at 
the  head  of  the  army  to  suppress  any  acts  of  violence  on 
their  part. 

Meanwhile  the  agitation  of  the  slavery  question  went 
on  North  and  South  with  increasing  bitterness.  The 

217 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

'  Wilmct  Proviso"  still  held  its  place  in  the  public  mind,  and 
the  vital  questions  of  the  hour  ranged  themselves  around 
this  central  point  of  dispute.  Congress  had  hardly  begun 
its  session  when  Henry  Clay,  who  had  been  in  retirement 
since  his  defeat  as  a  presidential  candidate  in  1844,  re 
appeared  in  the  Senate.  He  signalized  his  entrance  on  a 
new  period  of  political  activity  by  bringing  forward,  as  a 
cure  for  all  the  existing  evils  involved  in  the  agitation  of 
the  slavery  question,  the  time-worn  panacea  of  Com 
promise.  It  was  his  ambition  to  pose,  in  his  last  sen 
atorial  days,  as  a  pacificator,  on  the  basis  of  legislation 
which  would  end  the  strife  between  the  North  and  the 
South. 

Mr.  Clay's  plan,  introduced  in  the  Senate  January  29, 
1850,  was  broad  and  comprehensive.  It  consisted  of  a 
number  of  resolutions,  each  containing  a  proposition, 
namely:  i.  That  California  be  admitted  without  any 
restriction  as  to  slavery  by  Congress.  2.  That  inasmuch 
as  slavery  was  not  likely  to  exist  in  any  of  the  Territories 
obtained  from  Mexico,  governments  ought  to  be  estab 
lished  there  without  restriction  or  condition  on  the  subject 
of  slavery.  3.  That  the  boundary  between  Texas  and 
New  Mexico  should  be  agreed  upon.  4.  That  Texas  be 
paid  a  sum  of  money  in  consideration  of  giving  up  a  large 
part  of  her  claims  to  land  in  New  Mexico.  5.  That  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia  under 
present  circumstances  was  inexpedient.  6.  That  it  was 
expedient  to  prevent  the  slave-trade  in  the  District  of 
Columbia.  7.  That  a  more  effectual  fugitive  slave  law 

218 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

ought  to  be  passed.  8.  That  Congress  had  no  power  to 
prohibit  the  slave-trade  between  slave  States. 

In  his  speech  supporting  his  resolutions,  Mr.  Clay 
took  the  gloomiest  view  of  the  situation  caused  by  the 
agitation,  both  North  and  South,  of  the  issues  relating  to 
slavery.  The  subject  was,  as  he  expressed  it,  an  "awful" 
one,  and  nothing  could  avert  the  direful  consequences 
which  he  foresaw  save  mutual  concessions  and  a  spirit  of 
accommodations.  All  that  was  embodied  in  the  "Wil- 
mot  Proviso"  would  be  secured  to  the  North,  because 
California  had  already  prohibited  slavery  by  her  constitu 
tion;  it  did  not  exist  in  New  Mexico,  nor  was  there  any 
probability  that  it  would  ever  be  introduced  into  her  ter 
ritory.  The  provisions  of  the  resolutions  relating  to  other 
subjects  conceded  some  things  to  the  North  and  some 
things  to  the  South.  That  relating  to  the  Fugitive  Slave 
Law  was  indispensable  to  secure  the  rights  of  the  South 
against  the  deliberate  refusal  of  the  Northern  States  to  ex 
ecute  the  existing  law.  He  threw  into  his  impassioned 
appeal  all  the  power  and  persuasive  charm  of  his  per 
sonal  magnetism,  and  pleaded  for  compromise  as  the  only 
possible  safeguard  against  the  appalling  dangers  which 
menaced  the  Union. 

On  March  4,  1850,  John  C.  Calhoun,  then  in  the 
last  stages  of  his  fatal  illness,  was  brought  to  the  Senate, 
and  a  speech  which  he  had  prepared  was  read  by  Senator 
Mason,  of  Virginia.  It  was  the  Southern  statesman's 
dying  appeal  in  behalf  of  slavery  and  the  right  of  Southern 
slave-holders  to  carry  their  slaves  into  the  newly  acquired 

219 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

territories  of  the  Far  West.  His  argument  was  simple, 
and,  to  his  own  apprehension,  conclusive.  The  Consti 
tution  extended  over  all  this  vast  region;  as  the  Consti 
tution  recognized  and  protected  slavery  that  institution 
could  go  wherever  the  Constitution  went.  He  claimed 
that  the  equality  between  the  North  and  South  had  been 
disturbed;  that  the  South  had  been  gradually  weakened 
while  the  North  had  advanced  in  power  and  strength,  and 
that  the  Union  could  only  be  preserved  by  giving  to  the 
South  restored  equality  with  the  North  by  Constitutional 
amendment,  while  in  the  meantime  Congress  should,  as  far 
as  possible,  redress  the  wrongs  of  the  South,  especially  by 
enacting  a  more  stringent  fugitive  slave  law.  He  did  not 
live  to  vote  on  any  of  the  compromise  measures,  for,  less 
than  a  month  after  his  final  appearance  in  the  Senate,  he 
passed  away. 

Mr.  Webster  had  not  spoken.  The  whole  country, 
especially  the  North,  awaited  the  expression  of  his  opinion 
on  the  compromise  measures  with  eager  and  anxious  ex 
pectation.  He  was  the  foremost  man  in  the  Whig  party, 
its  candidate  in  the  last  presidential  contest.  He  was  the 
greatest  constitutional  lawyer  of  his  time.  His  fame  as  an 
orator,  established  by  his  Plymouth  and  Bunker  Hill  ad 
dresses  and  his  famous  reply  to  Hayne,  was  unrivaled; 
while  to  vast  numbers  of  New  England  men  he  was  an 
oracle  of  wisdom.  He  had  strenuously  opposed  the  an 
nexation  of  Texas  and  the  acquisition  of  new  territory, 
either  by  treaty  with  Mexico  or  by  conquest.  He  claimed 
that  the  "  Wilmot  Proviso,'*  prohibiting  the  introduction  of 

220 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

slavery  into  newly  acquired  territory,  had  its  origin  in  his 
own  declarations  on  this  subject.  To  use  his  own  words 
it  was  his  "thunder,"  and  to  this  extent  he  had  stood  for 
all  that  was  claimed  by  the  North  as  opposed  to  the 
aggressions  of  the  South. 

A  few  days  after  Mr.  Calhoun's  final  plea  for  slavery 
as  a  national  institution,  Mr.  Webster  delivered  in  the 
Senate  what  has  passed  into  history  as  his  "Seventh  of 
March  Speech/'  It  was  known  that  he  would  address  the 
Senate  on  that  day,  and  the  chamber — the  room  now 
occupied  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States — 
was,  at  an  early  hour,  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity,  on 
the  floor,  in  the  ante-chambers,  and  in  the  galleries.1  In 
the  opening  sentences  of  his  speech,  Mr.  Webster  showed 
that  he  still  held  his  accustomed  mastery  over  the  arts  of 
oratory.  He  appealed  at  once  to  the  imagination  and  the 
patriotic  sentiments  of  his  hearers  by  a  lofty  flight  of 
rhetoric  in  which  he  depicted  in  vivid  colors  the  dangers 
which  threatened  the  imperiled  Union.  "The  imprisoned 
winds,"  he  said  "are  let  loose.  The  East,  the  North  and 
the  stormy  South  combine  to  throw  the  whole  sea  into 
commotion,  and  toss  its  billows  to  the  skies,  and  disclose 
its  profoundest  depths."  He  did  not  regard  himself  as 
fit  to  hold  the  helm  in  this  combat  with  the  political 
elements;  but  he  had  a  duty  to  perform  during  the  strug 
gle,  though  the  sun  and  the  stars  should  not  appear  for 

1  This  debate  took  place  before  the  completion  of  the  chamber  now  occupied 
by  the  Senate,  and  in  the  chamber  now  occupied  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  from  which  the  galleries  have  long  since  been  removed. — ED. 

221 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

many  days,  and  he  spoke  for  the  preservation  of  the 
Union. 

Mr.  Webster  then  entered  upon  an  historical  review 
of  slavery  in  the  States  from  the  formation  of  the  Union 
to  the  year  1850.  He  spoke  of  the  guarantees  of  the  Con 
stitution  by  which  slavery  was  recognized  in  the  States 
and  kept  free  from  Federal  interference,  and  of  the  great 
change  of  opinion  which  had  taken  place  from  the  time 
when,  both  in  the  North  and  the  South,  slavery  was 
regarded  as  an  evil  to  be  deplored  and  gradually  eradi 
cated.  He  attributed  the  growing  sentiment  in  favor  of 
slavery  at  the  South  to  the  extreme  eagerness  of  the  peo 
ple  not  only  to  make  the  products  of  the  soil,  especially 
cotton,  the  means  of  wealth,  but  also  to  add  to  these 
abundant  sources  of  prosperity  by  the  acquisition  of  new 
territory.  He  showed  that  in  the  successful  prosecution 
of  this  desire  for  extending  the  area  of  slavery  the  admis 
sion  of  Texas  added  to  the  Union  "a  new  slave-holding 
territory,  so  vast  that  a  bird  cannot  fly  over  it  in  a  week." 
This  had  been  done  with  the  aid  of  Northern  and  even 
New  England  votes.  He,  himself,  had  steadily  expressed 
his  opposition  to  the  admission  of  slave  States  or  the 
acquisition  of  new  slave  territory  to  be  added  to  the 
United  States,  but  he  held  that  Texas  being  in  the  Union 
with  all  her  territory  as  a  slave  State  with  a  solemn  pledge 
that  south  of  36°  30'  slavery  should  exist,  no  question  re 
mained  as  to  slavery  in  that  territory,  and  it  was  beyond 
the  power  of  Congress  to  change  the  situation. 

Thus  far  Mr.  Webster's  speech  had  been  calm  and 

222 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

cogent.  It  laid  a  broad  historical  foundation  on  which  he 
could  have  asserted  the  right  of  the  North  to  resist  by  every 
means  the  further  aggressions  and  aggrandizements  of 
the  slave  power,  and  to  uphold  the  principle  that  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  slave-holding  States  that  power  had  no 
rights  under  the  Constitution.  But  instead  of  this  he 
gave  his  adhesion  to  the  policy  of  conciliation,  conces 
sion  and  compromise.  He  held  slavery  to  be  excluded 
from  both  California  and  New  Mexico  by  the  law  of 
nature  and  of  physical  geography,  that  the  entire  territory 
embraced  in  their  borders  was  already  "fixed  for  free 
dom"  and  that,  therefore,  to  apply  to  any  part  of  it  the 
restrictions  of  the  "Wilmot  Proviso"  would  be  an  idle 
thing;  and  he  said,  "I  would  not  take  pains  uselessly  to 
reaffirm  an  ordinance  of  nature  nor  to  reenact  the  will 
of  God.  I  would  put  in  no  'Wilmot  Proviso '  for  the 
mere  purpose  of  a  taunt  or  a  reproach." 

Mr.  Webster  then  went  on  to  review  the  grievances 
and  mutual  recriminations  between  the  North  and  the 
South,  and  laid  special  emphasis  on  the  disinclination  of 
the  North  to  perform  the  constitutional  duties  in  regard 
to  the  return  of  fugitive  slaves,  saying  emphatically,  "  In 
that  respect  the  South  in  my  judgment  is  right,  and  the 
North  is  wrong,"  and  he  argued  for  the  passage  of  a  more 
stringent  and  effectual  law  in  aid  of  the  capture  by 
Southern  slave-holders  in  Northern  States  of  runaway 
slaves.  He  denounced  the  Abolitionists  as  the  authors, 
by  continuous  action  since  1835,  of  great  agitation — "agi 
tation  in  the  North  against  Southern  slavery."  He 

223 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

apologized  for  the  violence  of  the  Northern  press,  which 
he  attributed  largely  to  the  foolish  and  violent  speeches 
in  both  Houses  of  Congress.  The  complaints  of  the 
North  against  the  South  he  treated  as  having  their  foun 
dation  mainly  in  differences  of  opinion,  in  reference  to 
which  all  that  could  be  done  was  "to  endeavor  to  allay 
the  agitation  and  cultivate  a  better  feeling  and  more 
fraternal  sentiments  between  the  South  and  the  North." 
He  closed  by  deprecating  the  Southern  threat  of  secession, 
holding  that  peaceable  secession  of  any  of  the  States  was 
impossible  and  could  never  take  place. 

As  fast  as  the  telegraph  and  mails  could  carry  it,  Mr. 
Webster's  speech  was  in  the  hands  of  the  people  North 
and  South.  I  read  it  aloud  at  my  father's  breakfast  table 
on  the  8th  of  March.  In  the  North,  on  the  part  of  all  the 
friends  of  freedom,  it  was  received  with  amazement  and 
indignation.  It  was  regarded  by  many  as  a  bid  for  the 
presidential  nomination  in  1852;  by  others  as  a  surrender 
to  the  demands  of  the  South,  and  by  many  others  as  a 
timorous  compliance  with  the  cry  for  a  compromise  in 
which,  as  always  before,  the  South  was  to  be  the  gainer 
and  the  North  the  loser.  But  especially  and  above  all 
the  storm  of  indignation  was  directed  against  Mr.  Web 
ster's  advocacy  of  a  new  fugitive  slave  law.  The  im 
prisoned  winds  of  his  opening  metaphor  were  now  let  loose 
in  a  more  literal  sense,  and  blew  "contending  tempests 
on  his  naked  head."  Horace  Mann  wrote:  "Webster 
is  a  fallen  star!  Lucifer  descending  from  Heaven!" 
Giddings,  of  Ohio,  said:  "By  this  speech  a  blow  was 

224 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

struck  at  freedom  and  the  constitutional  rights  of  the 
free  States  which  no  Southern  arm  could  have  given." 
At  a  public  meeting  held  March  25,  in  Faneuil  Hall,  to 
condemn  the  action  of  Mr.  Webster,  Theodore  Parker 
said:  "I  know  no  deed  in  American  history  done  by  a 
son  of  New  England  to  which  I  can  compare  this  but  the 
act  of  Benedict  Arnold.  .  .  .  The  only  reasonable  way 
in  which  we  can  estimate  this  speech  is  as  a  bid  for  the 
presidency."  The  Abolitionists  were  furious  at  Webster's 
denunciation  of  them.  One  of  the  vials  of  wrath  poured 
out  was  a  poem  by  the  Quaker  poet  Whittier,  entitled 
"Ichabod,"  in  which  he  wrote,  among  other  things: 

"Of  all  we  loved  and  honored,  naught 

Save  power  remains; 
A  fallen  angel's  pride  of  thought, 
Still  strong  in  chains. 

All  else  is  gone;   from  those  great  eyes 

The  soul  has  fled; 
When  faith  is  lost,  when  honor  dies, 

The  man  is  dead! 

Then,  pay  the  reverence  of  old  days 

To  his  dead  fame; 
Walk  backward,  with  averted  gaze, 

And  hide  the  shame!" 

Years  afterward,  writing  of  this  poem  Whittier  said: 
"It  was  the  outcome  of  the  surprise  and  grief  and  forecast 
of  evil  consequences  which  I  felt  on  reading  the  yth  of 
March  speech  of  Daniel  Webster  in  support  of  the  '  Com 
promise,'  and  the  'Fugitive  Slave  Law/  But,"  he 

225 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

added,  "death  softens  all  resentments,  and  the  conscious 
ness  of  a  common  inheritance  of  frailty  and  weakness 
modifies  the  seventy  of  judgment." 

Mr.  Webster  did  not  flinch.  After  a  few  weeks  there 
was  an  apparent  and  natural  reaction  of  Northern  senti 
ment  in  his  favor  The  conservative  Whigs  rallied  to  his 
support;  men  interested  in  the  commerical  interests  of 
the  North,  who  dreaded  the  agitation  of  the  question  of 
slavery  as  a  menace  to  the  prosperity  of  the  country, 
ranged  themselves  on  the  side  of  compromise.  On  July 
17  he  took  the  floor  again  in  the  Senate  and  made  a  labored 
speech  in  favor  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  in  which  he 
paid  his  respects  to  the  Abolitionists  as  follows:  "No 
drum-head,  in  the  longest  day's  march,  was  ever  more 
incessantly  beaten  and  smitten,  than  public  sentiment  in 
the  North  has  been,  every  month,  and  day,  and  hour,  by 
the  din,  and  roll,  and  rub-a-dub  of  Abolition  writers  and 
Abolition  lecturers." 

Meantime  President  Taylor,  who  looked  with  dis 
favor  on  the  compromise  measures,  had  been  stricken 
with  a  fatal  illness,  and  died  July  9,  1850.  Millard  Fill- 
more,  who  succeeded  to  the  presidency,  belonged  to  the 
extreme  conservative  wing  of  the  Whig  party,  and  was  in 
full  sympathy  with  Mr.  Clay's  scheme  of  compromise. 
He  called  Mr.  Webster  from  the  Senate  into  his  cabinet 
as  Secretary  of  State.  After  long  debate  and  discussion, 
the  contest  over  the  compromises  of  1850  came  to  an  end. 
Finally,  late  in  August,  1850,  they  were  passed.  The 
biographer  of  Cass,  from  whom  I  have  already  quoted, 

226 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

and  who  claims  for  the  Michigan  Senator  an  important 
share  in  the  result,  says:  'The  different  provisions  of  the 
compromise  bill  were  finally  passed  piecemeal.  Territo 
rial  governments  were  given  to  Utah  and  to  New  Mexico. 
California  was  admitted.  Texas  was  given  $10,000,000 
in  lieu  of  all  title  to  land  included  in  the  territory  or 
ganized  as  New  Mexico.  The  slave-trade  in  the  District 
of  Columbia  was  abolished.  An  infamous  fugitive  slave 
law  was  passed,  providing  for  summary  proceedings  and 
a  shameful  disregard  for  the  rights  of  free  blacks."  l 

This  closed  another  chapter  of  compromise  between 
the  North  and  the  South  on  the  vexed  question  of  slavery. 
Whether  Mr.  Clay  could,  without  the  aid  of  Mr.  Webster, 
have  carried  through  his  scheme  to  the  final  conclusion 
reached,  cannot  be  determined;  but  it  is  certain  that  the 
support  which  Mr.  Webster  gave  was  fatal  to  the  latter's 
hold  on  the  confidence  and  respect  of  a  large  part  of  the 
liberty-loving  people  of  the  North;  and  his  latest  bi 
ographer  says  that  in  the  yth  of  March  speech,  "He 
broke  from  his  past,  from  his  own  principles  and  from 
the  principles  of  New  England,  and  closed  his  splendid 
public  career  with  a  terrible  mistake."  2 

1  Andrew  C.  McLaughlin,  "Lewis  Cass,"  p.  283. 

2  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  "Daniel  Webster,"  p.  323. 


227 


CHAPTER  XV 

MARRIAGE — A  QUAKER'S  SALUTATION — REVEREND  SAMUEL  RUSSELL — 
WEDDING  TRIP — HOME  IN  37  EAST  NINETEENTH  STREET — DOMESTIC 
EVENTS — HORACE  GREELEY — P.  T.  BARNUM — JENNY  LIND — "BAR- 
NUM'S  PARNASSUS" — "SEA  SCRIBBLINGS" — AMERICAN  ART  UNION 
— COURT  OF  APPEALS  DECISION — "MRS.  LIMBER'S  RAFFLE." 

A  MORNING  newspaper  of  March  22,  1850,  chroni- 
*  *•  cled  the  fact  that  on  the  day  before,  the  2ist,  the 
ships  of  the  Old  Line  of  Liverpool  packets  were  decked 
with  colors  in  honor  of  the  marriage  of  Mary  Russell  Mar 
shall,  third  daughter  of  Charles  H.  Marshall,1  their  agent 
and  part  proprietor,  to  William  Allen  Butler.  I  cannot 
speak  of  the  decorations  of  the  ships  from  personal  knowl 
edge,  but  the  marriage  was  an  undoubted  historical  event. 

1  At  the  time  of  this  marriage  my  grandfather,  Charles  H.  Marshall,  had  been 
a  widower  for  13  years.  He  had  married  in  1822  Fidelia,  the  daughter  of 
Doctor  Lemuel  Wellman,  a  noted  physician  of  Piermont,  N.  H.,  whose  minis 
trations  extended  far  into  the  country  and  neighboring  towns.  My  mother 
speaks  of  having  often  heard  how  her  grandfather  was  wont  to  travel  through 
out  the  country  on  horseback  with  his  saddle-bags  filled  with  medicines  and 
surgical  instruments,  relieving  the  sick  and  suffering,  and  attending  to  all  forms 
of  ailments,  from  the  extraction  of  a  tooth  to  the  severest  cases  of  fever  and 
surgery. 

Doctor  Wellman's  wife — Esther  Steele  Russell — was  a  grand-daughter  of  the 
Reverend  Samuel  Russell,  in  whose  house  in  1700  the  ten  "reverend  ministers" 
met  who  took  the  first  step  in  the  foundation  of  Yale  College. 

The  Yale  Alumni  Weekly  of  October  16,  1901,  refers  thus  to  the  commem 
oration  of  this  event: 

"While  wishing  to  do  honor  to  the  great  men  of  Yale,  the  alumni,  who  have 
time,  will  be  well  repaid  by  a  visit  to  the  nearby  town  of  Branford,  where,  in 

228 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

It  took  place  at  No.  38  East  Fourteenth  Street,  Union 
Square.  The  vernal  equinox  never  happened  on  a  finer 
day,  and  its  noontide  sunlight,  which  shed  its  radiance  on 
bride  and  bridegroom,  was  a  happy  presage  of  the  kindly 
light  which  was  to  illuminate  their  path  ever  after.  They 
were  married  by  the  Reverend  William  Snodgrass  of  the 
Fifteenth  Street  Church.  He  survived  to  be  present  at 
their  silver  wedding  in  1875,  but  died  not  long  after  that 
event.  Of  the  many  wedding  guests  very  few  are  now 
living.  Some  who  were  little  children  then,  hardly  able 
to  remember  the  occasion,  are  now  on  the  verge  of  old 
age,  but  of  the  older  participants  only  a  small  remnant 
survive. 

I  must  relate  a  striking  salutation  which  the  bridal 
couple  received  from  a  Quaker  client  of  mine,  a  shrewd 
dry-goods  merchant,  who,  when  presented  to  them  by  an 
usher,  surveyed  the  bride,  whom  he  had  never  seen  before, 
and  then  with  the  utmost  deliberation  proceeded  to  say: 
"  William,  I  think  thy  bride  has  shown  more  judgment 
in  her  choice  than  thee  has."  Fortunately,  before  I 

November,  1900,  was  placed  in  the  public  square  a  granite  stone  in  memory  of 
the  ten  reverend  ministers  who  there  met  two  hundred  years  before,  to  take, 
with  humble  faith,  the  first  step  in  the  founding  of  Yale  College.  The  stone 
bears  the  name  of  the  ten  ministers  with  this  inscription : 

"  In  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Russell, 
Once  standing  near  this  spot, 

Was  held  in  1700, 
The  meeting  of  Ministers  of  the 

Colony  of  Connecticut, 
When  they  gave  Books  for  the  founding 

of  the  Collegiate  School, 
Which  now  bears  the  name  of 

Yale  University."  — ED. 

22Q 


WILLIAM  ALLEN    BUTLER 

could  turn  to  resent  this  strange  declaration,  he  con 
tinued  as  follows:  "  Because  it  takes  some  time  to  dis 
cover  thy  good  qualities  but  hers  can  be  seen  at  a  glance." 
For  genuine  Quaker  wit  this  will  be  found  hard  to  match. 
On  our  wedding  trip,  which  extended  as  far  south  as 
Richmond,  we  stopped  at  Washington.  We  called  at  the 
White  House,  and  were  graciously  received  by  President 
Taylor.  I  had  a  curiosity  to  see  the  hero  of  the  many 
victories  of  Mexico  which  had  won  for  him  the  highest 
place  in  the  gift  of  the  country.  He  did  not  altogether 
belie  his  cognomen  of  "Old  Rough  and  Ready,"  for  he 
was  a  somewhat  weather-beaten  soldier.  But  no  man 
who  has  had  the  command  of  armies  is  wholly  out  of 
place  in  any  supreme  position,  and  in  his  case,  as  with 
other  military  presidents,  there  was  no  violent  transition 
from  Major-General  to  Chief  Executive.  The  interest 
of  our  visit  was  much  heightened  in  the  retrospect  by  the 
fact  that  it  was  only  a  few  weeks  later  that  he  passed 
away.  Mr.  Webster,  in  his  speech  of  the  i7th  of  July, 
a  few  days  after  the  sad  event,  made  a  fine  panegyric  on 
the  departed  President,  and  in  alluding  to  the  universal 
expressions  of  regret,  ended  with  one  of  those  apt  classi 
cal  quotations  of  which  he  was  so  fond: 

"Such  honors  Ilium  to  her  hero  paid, 
And  peaceful  slept  the  mighty  Hector's  shade." 

While  we  were  in  Washington,  the  funeral  of  Mr.  Cal- 
houn  took  place  in  the  old  Senate  chamber,  and  we 
were  present  at  the  ceremonies,  which  were  most  impres- 

230 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

sive.  The  chamber  was  crowded  with  the  most  distin 
guished  men  in  the  service  of  the  country,  of  all  parties. 
In  spite  of  the  fact  that  Mr.  Calhoun  had  been  during 
all  his  political  life  almost  a  monomaniac  on  the  sub 
ject  of  slavery  and  the  supremacy  to  which  the  slave 
power  was  entitled  in  the  affairs  of  the  Union,  he  was 
held  in  respect  for  his  integrity,  ability  and  high  personal 
character. 

In  anticipation  of  my  marriage,  I  had  bought  from 
William  M.  Evarts,  whose  family  had  outgrown  it,  a 
house  in  East  Nineteenth  Street,  No.  37,  one  of  a  row  of 
five  twenty-foot  front  houses  built  by  Daniel  Lord,  the 
eminent  lawyer.  One  of  these  houses  was  occupied  by 
his  son-in-law,  Henry  Day,  and  two  of  them,  respectively, 
by  his  sons  Daniel  D.  and  John  C.,  the  former  of  whom 
had  married  my  sister,  Mary  Howard,  in  1844. 

I  bought  the  house  at  37  East  Nineteenth  Street  for 
$6,150.  After  living  in  it  five  years  I  sold  it  for  $8,000  to 
Dr.  Willard  Parker,  who  presented  it  to  his  eldest  daugh 
ter  on  the  day  of  her  marriage  to  my  brother,  Benjamin 
F.  Butler,  Jr.  My  brother  and  his  family  lived  in  it  for 
over  six  years,  and  then  it  was  sold  for  $13,000;  and  later 
on,  after  some  important  improvements  had  been  made 
in  it,  it  was  again  sold  for  $33,000.  The  moral  of  this  is 
that  if  you  happen  to  own  property  in  a  growing  part  of 
the  city,  unencumbered  by  mortgage,  it  is  best  to  hold  on 
to  it.  This  being  an  exception  to  the  rule  that  "Riches 
take  unto  themselves  wings  and  fly  away." 

In  this  house  our  oldest  child,  Charles  Marshall,  was 

231 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

born  February  24,  1851,  and  here  he  died  August  19, 
1852,  a  bright  and  beautiful  life  cut  off  in  less  than  eigh 
teen  months  after  its  commencement.  Our  second  son, 
William  Allen,  Jr.,  was  also  born  in  this  house. 

During  a  part  of  our  residence  in  Nineteenth  Street 
our  next-door  neighbor  was  Horace  Greeley,  who  carried 
his  personal  eccentricities  to  some  extent  into  his  domes 
tic  arrangements.  He  kept  a  goat  in  his  back  yard,  and 
appealed,  when  necessity  required,  to  his  neighbors  to 
aid  him  in  looking  after  his  gas  meter  when  the  lights 
went  out.  As  the  houses  in  our  row  were  identical  in  ap 
pearance,  it  was  not  strange  that  Mr.  Greeley,  with  his 
mind  intent  on  great  affairs,  should  mistake  one  of  the 
others  for  his  own.  Returning  home  one  time  carrying 
a  box  of  tea,  he  made  an  ineffectual  attempt  to  enter  my 
house.  My  wife,  hearing  some  one  at  the  front  door, 
opened  it  rather  suddenly,  and  the  founder  of  the  New 
York  Tribune  was  precipitated,  tea-chest  and  all,  into  our 
front  hall. 

Many  years  later,  in  the  presidential  campaign  of 
1872,  a  despairing  effort  was  made  by  the  Democratic 
party  in  nominating  Horace  Greeley  in  opposition  to 
General  Grant.  This  ludicrous  attempt  at  a  change  of 
front  in  the  presence  of  an  invincible  force,  resulted  in 
the  utter  discomfiture  of  the  veteran  anti-slavery  editor, 
who  made  but  a  grotesque  figure  as  a  presidential  aspirant. 
From  the  moment  when,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  he  rushed 
to  Richmond  to  sign  the  bail  bond  of  Jefferson  Davis,  he 
fancied  himself  to  be  the  center  of  an  influx  of  popular* 

232 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

ity  which  only  wanted  an  opportunity  to  attest  its  power 
by  elevating  him  to  the  presidency.  His  utter  defeat  at 
the  polls  was  a  rude  shattering  of  unfounded  hopes,  and 
a  heart-breaking  catastrophe.  When  he  died,  shortly 
after  his  defeat,  General  Grant  came  to  New  York  to 
attend  his  funeral,  an  act  which  the  Tribune  acknowl 
edged  as  a  mark  of  respect  to  a  political  opponent 
worthy  of  the  magnanimous  character  of  the  man  who 
paid  it.  It  is  a  noteworthy  illustration  of  the  shifting 
character  of  our  American  politics  that  Greeley,  whose 
control  of  the  great  anti-slavery  organ  which  he  founded 
made  him  one  of  the  chief  promoters  of  the  Republican 
party,  and  an  abiding  force  in  its  councils,  should  have 
closed  a  political  career  by  an  abortive  attempt  to  secure 
the  presidency  as  the  leader  of  the  Democratic  party. 
But  the  good  work  he  did  against  that  party  survives, 
and  his  best  epitaph  was  found  in  the  legend  so  long 
displayed  at  the  head  of  the  editorial  columns  of  the 
Tribune,  "Founded  by  Horace  Greeley."  When  and  why 
these  four  words  were  dropped  from  their  accustomed 
place  I  do  not  know. 

In  the  summer  of  1850,  Phineas  T.  Barnum,  famous 
for  the  Museum  at  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Ann 
Street,  which  bore  his  name,  and  also  famous  for  his  man 
agement  of  circuses  and  caravans,  as  shows  of  wild  ani 
mals  were  then  designated,  astonished  the  American  public 
by  capturing  Jenny  Lind,  with  whose  praises  all  Europe 
was  ringing,  and  bringing  her  to  this  country  under  his 
management.  As  she  did  not  sing  in  opera,  the  man- 

233 


WILLIAM   ALLEN   BUTLER 

agers  of  that  form  of  entertainment  could  not  include  her 
in  their  arrangements,  but  the  shrewd  showman  had  the 
tact  and  courage  to  believe  that  Jenny  Lind,  on  the  con 
cert  platform,  would  be  as  attractive  as  in  an  operatic 
company  on  the  stage.  I  had  heard  Jenny  Lind  at 
Exeter,  in  England,  while  on  a  visit  to  the  cathedral  of 
that  old  town.  Wherever  she  went,  she  was  an  object 
of  great  interest  and  curiosity,  and  crowds  would  gather 
in  front  of  her  hotel,  singing: 

"Jenny  Lind  O!  Jenny  Lind  O! 
Come  to  the  window!  " 

But  she  came  not,  and  the  only  way  of  seeing  and  hearing 
her  was  to  purchase  an  admission  ticket  to  the  hall  where 
her  marvelous  voice  filled  the  place  with  melody  and  her 
hearers  with  delight. 

Jenny  Lind's  first  concert  was  given — of  all  places  in 
the  world — in  Castle  Garden !  It  was,  of  course,  a  great 
event.  I  was  there,  and  wrote  an  account  of  it  for  The 
National  Intelligencer  of  Washington,  for  which  I  was  an 
occasional  correspondent.  I  think  the  audience  hardly 
equaled  in  numbers  Barnum's  expectations,  but  believe 
the  results  of  the  Jenny  Lind  concerts,  as  a  whole,  satis 
fied  the  showman.  However,  he  afterward  wisely  con 
fined  himself  to  wild  animals  and  the  ring. 

Before  her  arrival,  and  as  a  characteristic  stroke  of 
policy,  Barnum  advertised  a  prize  of  two  hundred  dollars 
for  a  song,  the  singing  of  which  by  Jenny  Lind  was  to  be 
a  feature  of  the  opening  night  of  her  American  engage- 

234 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

ment,  the  prize  to  be  awarded  by  a  committee  whom  he 
named.  This  made  quite  a  stir  in  literary  circles.  George 
P.  Morris,  whose  poetic  reputation  rested  chiefly  on  his 
popular  poem  "Woodman,  Spare  That  Tree,"  was  at 
that  time  editing  in  partnership  with  Nathaniel  P.  Willis 
The  Home  Journal,  then  a  literary  weekly  in  New  York. 
Willis  gave  out  in  the  columns  of  that  paper  that  "the 
acknowledged  best  song-writer  of  America"  declined 
to  compete  for  Barnum's  prize.  A  clear  field  was  thus 
left  for  all  the  rhymesters  in  the  land.  It  was  under 
stood  that  Barnum  took  refuge  from  the  avalanche  of 
competing  contributors,  with  which  he  was  likely  to  be 
overwhelmed,  by  a  timely  arrangement  with  Bayard 
Taylor,  who  furnished  what  was  supposed  to  be  the  suc 
cessful  song.  In  the  mean  time  it  occurred  to  me  that 
some  fun  might  be  got  out  of  the  situation,  and  I  published 
a  booklet  of  about  fifty  pages  under  the  title  of"  Barnum's 
Parnassus:  Being  Confidential  Disclosures  of  the  Prize 
Committee  on  the  Jenny  Lind  Song."  My  venture  was 
on  the  plan  of  Horace  and  James  Smith's  "Rejected  Ad 
dresses,"  and  described  the  Committee  as  receiving  and 
reading,  with  growing  bewilderment  and  confusion,  songs 
which  were,  in  the  main,  good-natured  parodies1  on  Hal- 

'The  writing  of  parodies  was  an  occasional  pastime  with  my  father.  "  Sea 
Scribblings,"  as  he  called  some  light  poems  written  on  one  of  our  European 
trips  and  afterwards  published  and  sold  for  the  benefit  of  a  local  charity,  con 
tains  "Samples  of  Epics — Furnished  'on  approbation'  at  the  request  of  a  lady 
who  desired  an  Epic  on  the  Bothnia."  The  samples  are  "  I. — Classic,"  in  style 
after  Virgil;  "II. — Genuine  Poet  Laureate,"  in  the  style  of  Tennyson's  "Lotus 
Eaters";  "III. — Advanced  Modern  School;"  "IV. — Latest  Novelty — Patent 
Applied  For." 

I  have  been  tempted  to  insert  some  of  these  samples,  but  I  am  deterred  from 

235 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

leek,  Bryant,  Longfellow,  Holmes  and  other  bards. 
"Barnum's  Parnassus"  was  published  by  the  Apple  tons 
and  was  quite  a  success.  It  went  through  three  editions. 

In  the  year  1852  occurred  a  disastrous  termination  of 
The  American  Art  Union.  A  few  leading  spirits  in  New 
York,  enthusiastic  in  their  efforts  to  aid  American  artists 
and  establish  American  art  on  a  secure  foundation  of  pub 
lic  sympathy,  had  availed  themselves  of  the  charter  of  a 
society  organized  in  1840  known  as  the  Apollo  Associa 
tion.  They  changed  its  name  to  The  American  Art  Union 
and  organized  a  plan  of  operations  similar  to  that  of  the 
Art  Union  authorized  by  Act  of  Parliament  in  England 
and  which  had  proved  a  great  success. 

On  my  return  from  Europe  in  1848,  finding  this 
movement  in  progress,  I  had  united  in  it  with  much  ardor, 
becoming  one  of  the  directors,  and  as  such  was  associated 
with  some  of  the  leading  men  of  the  city.  Amongst  them 
was  Charles  P.  Daly,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Com 
mon  Pleas,  whose  cooperation  was  apparently  a  sufficient 
guarantee  of  the  legality  of  the  corporation's  action. 
Membership  in  the  Art  Union  was  secured  by  the  pay 
ment  of  an  annual  subscription  of  five  dollars.  The  sub 
scription  money  was  applied  to  the  purchase  of  works  of 
American  artists,  and  to  the  maintenance  of  a  free  gallery 

doing  so  by  a  cautionary  sentence  of  my  father's,  with  which  he  replied  to  a 
request  to  print  some  humorous  sayings  uttered  at  the  Twelfth  Night  festival 
of  the  Century  Association  on  January  6,  1899.  The  sentence  appears  on  the 
title-page  of  the  book  printed  to  commemorate  that  occasion :  "  Nonsense  drawn 
from  the  wood  and  consumed  on  the  premises  is  a  grand  exhilarant.  Bottling 
for  export  is  a  hazardous  experiment." — ED. 

236 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

for  the  exhibitions.  The  gallery  was  on  the  westerly  side 
of  Broadway  in  the  neighborhood  of  Greene  Street,  on  a 
level  with  the  sidewalk  and  accessible  to  the  entire  public. 
Each  subscriber  was  entitled  to  a  monthly  bulletin  devoted 
to  the  interest  of  art,  and  also  to  one  or  more  large  sized 
engravings  by  American  artists.  At  the  close  of  each  year 
the  works  of  art  were  distributed  by  lot  at  the  annual 
meeting  among  the  subscribers. 

The  Art  Union,  under  its  new  and  active  manage 
ment,  proved  a  great  success.  Its  list  of  subscribers  rose 
to  fifteen  thousand  and  its  ample  funds  enabled  it  to  give 
to  American  artists  a  practical  recognition  of  the  most 
substantial  and  inspiring  character.  The  annual  meet 
ings  for  distribution,  held  in  the  Broadway  Tabernacle, 
then  the  largest  auditorium  in  New  York,  were  scenes  of 
great  enthusiasm.  At  one  of  them  I  recall  a  very  neat 
bit  of  platform  tactics  by  General  Prosper  M.  Wetmore, 
the  president  of  the  society.  In  making  the  annual  re 
port  he  alluded  to  some  criticism  which  had  been  made 
as  to  the  action  of  the  board  of  directors  in  giving  a  recep 
tion  in  advance  of  the  public  opening  of  the  gallery,  and 
providing  a  collation  at  a  cost  of  some  three  hundred 
dollars,  which  was  claimed  to  be  an  unauthorized  expendi 
ture.  He  explained  the  necessity  of  interesting  leading 
men  of  the  city  in  the  work  of  the  Art  Union  and  the 
advantage  which  had  been  secured  by  inviting  them  to  a 
private  view  of  the  exhibition  before  it  was  thrown  open 
to  the  public.  Then,  after  justifying  the  expenditure,  he 
put  the  question  of  approving  the  action  of  the  directors 

237 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

to  a  vote.  This  was  unanimous  in  their  favor.  When 
the  applause  which  followed  the  announcement  of  the 
vote  had  subsided,  General  Wetmore  very  quietly  said: 
"Well,  the  directors  paid  for  that  collation  out  of  their 
own  pockets." 

These  halcyon  days  of  American  art  were  brought  to 
an  abrupt  and  stormy  close.  The  American  Art  Union 
had  incurred  the  antagonism  of  some  dealers  in  foreign 
pictures  and  prints,  and  a  proceeding  was  set  in  motion 
against  it  on  the  ground  that  its  objects  and  methods  were 
in  violation  of  the  provisions  of  the  State  Constitution 
prohibiting  lotteries  and  the  statute  against  lotteries  and 
raffling.  The  fact  that  each  subscriber  became  entitled 
to  a  share  in  the  distribution  of  the  property  by  lot  was 
claimed  to  be  of  the  very  essence  of  a  lottery  and  within 
the  prohibition  of  the  law.  The  American  Art  Union 
made  a  brave  fight  and  relied  as  a  precedent  for  its  le 
gality  upon  the  English  society  on  which  it  had  been 
modeled.  The  immunity  enjoyed  by  its  English  pro 
totype,  however,  had  been  gained  by  a  special  Act  of 
Parliament,  a  body  restrained  by  no  constitutional  bar 
riers,  while  in  New  York,  from  1821  to  the  present  time, 
the  State  Constitution  has  prohibited  the  Legislature  from 
sanctioning  lotteries. 

Setting  aside,  therefore,  the  contentions  by  which 
Charles  O'Conor,  then  the  foremost  leader  of  the  bar, 
sought  to  distinguish  the  scheme  of  the  Art  Union  from 
one  within  the  penalties  of  the  law,  the  Court  of  Appeals 
pronounced  its  doom.  The  good  it  was  doing  and  the 

238 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

pure  motives  of  its  promoters  were  fully  conceded  by  the 
court,  but  there  stood  the  Constitution  and  the  law,  and 
the  fact  that  the  scheme  was  wrought  out  by  an  appeal 
to  the  universal  passion  for  playing  at  games  of  chance 
brought  it  under  the  ban.  The  court  said:  "The  pro 
hibition  was  not  aimed  at  the  object  for  which  lotteries 
had  been  authorized,  but  at  the  particular  mode  of  ac 
complishing  the  object.  It  was  founded  on  the  moral 
principle  that  evil  should  not  be  done  that  good  might 
follow,  and  upon  the  more  cogent,  practical  reason  that 
the  evil  consequent  on  this  pernicious  kind  of  gambling 
greatly  overbalanced  in  the  aggregate  any  good  likely  to 
result  from  it."  l 

This  decision  was  undoubtedly  right.  The  only  ex 
cuse  that  can  be  offered  for  the  learned  lawyers,  eminent 
merchants  and  art-loving  citizens  who  were  united  in 
carrying  on  the  good  objects  of  the  association,  is  that  it 
never  occurred  to  any  of  them  in  their  unselfish  work 
that  they  were  violating  any  law.2 

1  New  York  Reports,  Vol.  7,  p.  237. 

2  The  recollection  of  this  controversy  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  things  which 
almost  twenty  years  later  caused  my  father  to  write  his    short  story  entitled 
"Mrs.  Limber's  Raffle,  or,  A  Church  Fair  and  Its  Victims,"  first  published  in 
1876,  and  again  in  1894. 

In  the  preface  to  the  second  edition,  the  auther  says  that  the  book  was  pub 
lished  in  1876  anonymously,  "in  order  that  the  moral  which  it  sought  to  enforce 
might  stand  on  its  own  merits  free  from  any  element,  either  of  strength  or  weak 
ness,  attaching  to  personal  advocacy.  ...  A  new  edition  of  the  story  being 
called  for,  its  authorship  is  avowed;  and  attention  may  fitly  be  called  to  the 
great  advance  in  sound  public  opinion  on  the  subject  of  lotteries,  during  the 
eighteen  years  which  have  elapsed  since  its  first  publication." — ED. 


239 


CHAPTER  XVI 

PRESIDENTIAL  CAMPAIGN  OF  1852 — FRANKLIN  PIERCE — NATHANIEL  HAW 
THORNE — CONSTITUTIONALITY  OF  FUGITIVE  SLAVE  LAW — BENJAMIN 
F.  BUTLER'S  ATTITUDE  TO  FREE  SOIL  PARTY — RESULT  OF  ELECTION — 
WORLD'S  FAIR  OF  1853 — CRYSTAL  PALACE — DOMESTIC  EVENTS — MRS. 
BENJAMIN  F.  BUTLER — HER  ANCESTRY — LIFE — DEATH  AND  FUNERAL. 

THE  year  1852  brought  around  again  the  presidential 
nominations  and  a  presidential  election.  The  Com 
promise  Measures  of  1850  had  been  effective  in  lessen 
ing  the  agitation  in  reference  to  the  question  of  slavery 
in  the  new  Territories  and  had  been,  to  a  large  extent, 
accepted  by  both  the  Whig  and  Democratic  parties  as  a 
finality  so  far  as  pending  questions  growing  out  of  slavery 
were  concerned.  The  fatally  disturbing  factor  was  the 
Fugitive  Slave  Law.  Its  inhuman  provisions  made  it  an 
abomination  to  every  liberty-loving  man  in  the  North,  to 
many  of  the  leaders  in  the  anti-slavery  agitation,  and  es 
pecially  to  the  Abolitionists  and  men  of  extreme  anti- 
slavery  views,  who  in  both  the  national  parties  had  taken 
part  in  the  Free  Soil  movement  of  1848.  The  Abolition 
ists  denounced  the  law  as  unconstitutional  and  demanded 
its  immediate  repeal  on  that  ground.  Salmon  P.  Chase, 
whose  prominence  in  the  Buffalo  Free  Soil  Convention 
had  been  supplemented  by  his  greater  prominence  as  a 
United  States  senator  from  Ohio,  took  this  view,  and, 

240 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

although  claiming  to  adhere  to  the  principles  represented 
by  the  Democratic  party,  insisted  that  all  Democrats  and 
Whigs  alike  who  had  ranged  themselves  under  the  Free 
Soil  banner  unfurled  at  Buffalo,  should  unite  in  a  third 
party  movement  to  uphold  the  doctrines  for  which  it 
stood. 

In  the  meantime,  under  the  influence  of  the  Com 
promise  Measures  and  in  the  belief  that  they  afforded 
reasonable  ground  for  supposing  that  the  slavery  agita 
tion  was  virtually  at  an  end,  members  of  both  the  old 
parties  had  been  gradually  falling  back  into  their  ancient 
relations.  This  was  especially  the  case  in  New  York, 
where  "Old  Hunkers"  and  "Barn-burners"  met  to  smoke 
the  pipe  of  peace  and  renew  their  vows  against  their  old 
enemies.  The  Democrats  in  turning  over  the  State  to 
Taylor  and  Fillmore  in  1848  had  necessarily  given  the 
ascendency  to  the  Whigs,  who  were  now  in  possession  of 
all  the  State  offices.  This  was  gall  and  wormwood  to 
the  Democrats,  and,  on  the  basis  of  the  Compromises  of 
1850,  they  got  together  for  the  purpose  of  a  continued 
attack  on  the  common  foe.  Accordingly  there  was  a 
united  delegation  from  New  York  to  the  Baltimore  Con 
vention  held  June  i,  1852,  in  which  the  struggle  between 
the  rival  candidates  Cass,  Buchanan,  Douglas  and  Marcy 
ended  on  the  forty-ninth  ballot  in  the  nomination  of 
Franklin  Pierce,  of  New  Hampshire,  for  president,  and 
William  R.  King,  of  Alabama,  for  vice-president. 

The  nomination  of  Pierce,  like  that  of  Polk  in  1844, 
was  a  surprise;  but  he  was  not  without  qualities  appeal- 

241 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

ing  to  popular  sentiment.  He  was  the  son  of  a  revolu 
tionary  soldier,  a  graduate  of  Bowdoin  College,  Maine, 
had  served  in  the  legislature  of  New  Hampshire  for  four 
years,  afterwards  in  Congress  as  a  representative,  and 
then  in  the  United  States  Senate,  where  he  was  the  young 
est  man  in  the  body.  He  had  declined  the  attorney- 
generalship  tendered  to  him  by  President  Polk;  also  an 
election  as  United  States  senator  for  the  second  time^ 
and  the  nomination  for  governor  of  New  Hampshire.  At 
the  outbreak  of  the  Mexican  War  he  was  commissioned  a 
brigadier-general  and  served  creditably  under  General 
Scott.  He  was  a  man  of  engaging  manners  and  personal 
popularity. 

I  well  remember  my  father  coming  home  one  evening, 
while  we  were  living  in  Washington,  greatly  pleased  at 
being  the  recipient  from  Senator  Pierce,  with  whom  he 
had  formed  a  pleasant  acquaintance,  of  two  volumes 
written  by  a  New  England  author,  a  fellow-townsman  in 
Concord,  for  whom  the  Senator  predicted  a  brilliant 
literary  career.  These  were  the  "Twice  Told  Tales"  of 
Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  whose  name  is  pleasantly  associated 
with  that  of  Franklin  Pierce.  While  the  latter  was  run 
ning  for  president,  Hawthorne  turned  his  pen  to  the  rather 
uninspiring  task  of  writing  a  campaign  life  of  the  candi 
date,  a  work  which  occupies  about  one  hundred  pages  in 
one  of  the  volumes  of  his  complete  works,  and  is,  prob 
ably,  the  least  read  of  any  contained  in  the  collection. 
Hawthorne,  who  had  served  in  the  Boston  custom-house 
in  a  subordinate  position  during  President  Van  Buren's. 

242 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

administration,  was  appointed  surveyor  of  the  port  of 
Salem  by  President  Polk  in  the  spring  of  1846,  but  had 
been  removed  in  the  winter  of  1849.  On  the  accession  of 
his  friend  General  Pierce  to  the  presidency  he  was  re 
warded  by  appointment  to  the  lucrative  post  of  consul 
at  Liverpool,  and  was  thus  enabled  to  pursue  his  literary 
studies  and  labors  in  Europe,  and  especially  in  Italy, 
which  became  his  favorite  foreign  abode  after  the  ex 
piration  of  his  consulship.  Perhaps  the  greatest  service 
that  President  Pierce  rendered  the  country  was  making  it 
possible  for  Hawthorne  to  write  "The  Marble  Faun,"  a 
book  which  to  be  fully  enjoyed  should  be  read  where  it 
was  written,  in  Rome,  between  the  Capitol  and  the  Church 
of  the  Capuchins. 

The  platform  adopted  at  Baltimore  was  made  satisfac 
tory  to  the  South.  It  upheld  non-interference  by  Con 
gress  with  slavery  in  the  States,  declared  the  Compromise 
Laws  of  1850  a  finality  as  to  anti-slavery  agitation,  and 
upheld  them  all,  including  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law.  The 
Democrats  of  the  North,  who  had  united  in  the  Free  Soil 
movement  of  1848,  but  who  returned  to  their  party  alle 
giance  in  1852,  denounced  this  platform;  nevertheless  they 
supported  the  nominees  of  the  convention,  in  the  pro 
fessed  belief  that  the  important  question  of  the  exclusion 
of  slavery  from  the  Territories  had  been  substantially 
settled  in  favor  of  freedom,  and  that  the  Compromise 
Measures  of  1850  secured  the  best  solution  of  the  ques 
tions  involved  in  the  anti-slavery  agitation  which  it  was 
possible,  at  the  time,  to  obtain. 

243 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

On  July  15,  1852,  Mr.  Chase  addressed  an  open  letter 
to  my  father,  which  was  published  in  the  newspapers  and 
widely  circulated,  calling  upon  him  to  support  the  candi 
dates  who  should  be  nominated  at  the  approaching  so- 
called  Free  Soil  convention  to  be  held  in  August.  It  was 
quite  evident  that  this  convention,  instead  of  being  a  body 
representing,  as  in  1848,  Whigs  and  Democrats  united  in 
opposition  to  the  extension  of  slavery  into  free  territory, 
would  be  controlled  by  the  extreme  anti-slavery  men  and 
would  maintain,  among  other  things,  the  unconstitution- 
ality  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law. 

My  father  could  not  identify  himself  with  such  a  move 
ment,  and  he  replied  to  Mr.  Chase  in  a  letter,  published 
in  the  Evening  Post,  July  31,  1852,  in  which  he  reviewed 
with  great  particularity  the  history  of  the  origin  and  pur 
poses  of  the  Free  Soil  party  and  avowed  his  adhesion  to 
its  principles,  but  declared  that  while  he  abhorred  the  in 
humanity  and  injustice  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  he 
could  not  regard  it  as  unconstitutional  or  accept  a  plat 
form  which  contained  such  a  proposition.  He  held  that 
the  question  of  slavery  in  the  Territories  had,  for  the  time 
being,  been  practically  settled  by  the  Compromise  Meas 
ures  of  1850,  and  said  that  he  desired  the  success  of  the 
Democratic  candidates  in  order  that  their  party  might  be 
charged  with  the  entire  responsibility  of  the  government, 
it  being  his  belief  that  the  party  would  deal  with  the 
questions  agitating  the  public  mind  in  connection  with 
slavery  in  a  just  and  patriotic  way.  But  he  said  that  if 
it  should  lend  itself  to  a  crusade  against  freedom  the 

244 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

duration  of  such  misrule  would  be  for  only  four  years, 
which  are  "but  as  four  days  in  the  life  of  a  nation,  and 
though  this  period  is  long  enough  for  the  accomplish 
ment  of  much  mischief,  should  men  in  power  set  them 
selves  about  it,  yet  in  the  virtue  and  intelligence  of  the 
people  and  in  the  favor  of  Providence  we  may  confidently 
hope  for  an  early  and  ample  corrective." 

Pierce  and  King  swept  the  country,  General  Scott,  the 
Whig  presidential  candidate,  receiving  the  electoral  votes 
of  only  four  States;  and  Pierce  became  president  under 
circumstances  which  seemed  to  favor  another  era  of  good 
feeling.  He  was  the  youngest  man  who,  up  to  that  time, 
had  been  elected  to  the  presidency,  and  it  is  said  that  the 
ceremony  of  his  inauguration  was  witnessed  by  the  largest 
number  of  people  ever  gathered  in  Washington  to  assist 
at  the  inauguration  of  a  Chief  Magistrate.  The  public 
interest  in  him  was  greatly  heightened  by  the  fact  that  in 
the  month  of  January  after  his  election,  he  lost  his  only 
living  child,  a  boy  of  great  promise,  who  was  killed  in  a 
railroad  accident  while  travelling  with  his  father  and 
mother. 

On  July  14,  1853,  President  Pierce  came  to  New  York 
and  inaugurated  the  "World's  Fair,"  as  it  was  called, 
held  in  a  "Crystal  Palace"  in  imitation  of  that  erected  in 
London  in  1851.  He  rode  on  horseback  through  Broad 
way  up  to  Forty-second  Street  and  Sixth  Avenue,  where 
the  great  glass  building  was  situated.  My  recollection  is 
that  a  drenching  shower,  which  came  down  upon  the  pro 
cession  somewhere  about  Eighteenth  Street,  compelled 

245 


WILLIAM   ALLEN   BUTLER 

him  to  dismount  and  take  refuge  in  a  shop  and  procure 
some  changes  of  raiment.  At  home,  the  day  was  signal 
ized  by  the  birth  of  William  Allen  Butler,  Jr.,  an  exhibit 
more  interesting  to  his  parents  than  any  of  the  wonder 
ful  things  from  different  parts  of  the  globe  under  the 
dome  of  the  Crystal  Palace. 

The  enterprise  of  the  World's  Fair  was  in  private  hands, 
and  quite  a  fever  of  speculation  set  in  for  the  shares,  in  the 
expectation  of  great  pecuniary  results.  But  these  hopes 
were  disappointed.  The  summer  proved  exceptionally 
hot,  deterring  strangers  from  coming  to  New  York;  and 
while  the  exhibition  contained  many  objects  of  interest  it 
was  a  failure  as  a  financial  enterprise.  It  now  seems  quite 
an  insignificant  affair  in  a  retrospect  which  includes  the 
Centennial  Exposition  at  Philadelphia,  the  great  exposi 
tions  of  Paris  and  the  World's  Fairs  at  Chicago,  and  at 
St.  Louis. 

Scarcely  more  than  a  week  had  elapsed  from  the 
opening  of  the  Crystal  Palace  before  my  dear  mother 
died,  on  July  22,  1853,  at  the  house  of  her  son-in-law, 
John  P.  Crosby,  No.  7  Neilson  Place,  in  the  City  of  New 
York.  She  had  been  in  failing  health  for  several  months. 
My  father  had  sold  his  house  in  Washington  Place,  and 
he  and  my  mother  were  making  a  visit  to  their  eldest 
daughter,  Mrs.  Crosby,  when  a  fatal  attack  of  illness 
ended  my  mother's  life.  She  was  comparatively  young, 
being  only  in  her  fifty-sixth  year.  She  was  married  to 
my  father  at  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  May  n,  1818,  and  a  happy 
wedded  life  of  thirty-five  years  followed  the  union.  Of 

246 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

nine  children,  one,  Hannah  Tylee,  died  at  Albany  at  the 
age  of  six  years,  and  another,  Susan  Vanderpoel,  died  at 
Washington  at  the  age  of  two  years,  while  seven  survived 
her:  Margaret  Barker,1  wife  of  John  P.  Crosby;  Har 
riet  Allen,2  wife  of  Edmund  Dwight;  Mary  Howard,3 
wife  of  Daniel  D.  Lord;  William  Allen,  Benjamin  Frank 
lin;4  Eliza  Ogden,  afterwards  the  wife  of  Thomas  S. 
Kirkbride,  M.D.,  of  Philadelphia,  and  Lydia  Allen,  af 
terwards  the  wife  of  Alfred  Booth,  of  Liverpool,  Eng 
land. 

My  mother  was  of  Nantucket  descent  on  the  mater 
nal  side.  Her  father,  Howard  Allen,  had  married  Lydia 
Hussey,  a  native  of  Nantucket  and  a  direct  lineal  de 
scendant  of  Peter  Folger,  who  was  the  most  distinguished 
of  the  early  settlers,  and  an  ancestor  of  Benjamin  Frank 
lin  on  the  mother's  side.  The  Husseys  were  of  the 
Quaker  faith  and  my  grandparents  settled  with  those 
who  migrated  from  Nantucket  to  Hudson,  Columbia 
County,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  planting  a  populous 
colony  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river,  whose  name  they 
gave  to  their  settlement.  The  State  of  New  York  gave 
the  newcomers  a  liberal  charter,  and  as  the  river  was 
navigable  by  whale  ships  as  far  up  as  Hudson,  they  trans 
ferred  to  its  waters  the  enterprise  for  which  their  island 
had  been  celebrated,  and  many  vessels  sailed  from  the 
new  port  in  quest  of  spermaceti  and  whalebone.  Hud 
son,  in  due  course,  became  the  county  seat,  and  was  dis 
tinguished  by  an  able  bar  and  by  public  men  of  high 

'Died  1894.      2  Died  1903.      '  Died  1880.      4  Died  1884. 

247 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

character  and  great  influence  in  the  councils  of  the  State 
and  nation. 

Although  my  mother's  family  and  friends  were,  almost 
without  exception,  Quakers,  she  withdrew  from  the  So 
ciety  of  Friends  and  joined  the  congregation  in  Hudson 
of  the  Rev.  Benjamin  F.  Stanton,  a  Presbyterian  clergy 
man.  He  was  a  man  of  rare  gifts,  an  eloquent  preacher, 
and  of  an  attractive  personality.  My  father  and  mother 
were  both  warmly  attached  to  him,  not  only  during  the 
comparatively  short  time  they  lived  in  Hudson  after  their 
marriage,  but  always  thereafter.  He  was  a  Calvinist  of 
the  old  school,  but  this  ultraism  in  doctrine  did  not  im 
pair  his  popularity  as  a  preacher.  Indeed,  it  greatly 
influenced  the  religious  opinions  of  his  hearers.  I  think 
my  mother  never  lost  the  impression  which  he  made  upon 
her  religious  nature ;  and  my  father,  to  the  end  of  his  life, 
adhered,  I  think,  in  the  main  to  the  doctrines  preached  by 
his  early  friend  and  pastor,  although  he  would  never 
accept  office  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  from  an  un 
willingness  to  subscribe  to  all  that  the  Westminster  Con 
fession  contained.1 

Mr.  Stanton's  ministry  in  Hudson  lasted  for  nine  years, 
when,  owing  to  failing  health,  he  went  first  to  Connecticut 
and  then  to  Virginia  and  Alabama.  On  his  return  to 
the  North,  shortly  before  his  death  at  the  age  of  fifty-three, 
I  heard  him  preach  a  sermon  in  the  Mercer  Street  Church 


'It  was  probably  for  the  same  reason  that  my  father  likewise  never  accepted 
office  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  although  he  was  numbered  among  its  most 
devoted  adherents. — ED. 

248 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

to  which  I  listened  with  the  greatest  interest,  because  his 
name  had  been  a  household  word  in  our  family  for  many 
years.  Although  there  were  traces  of  the  ancient  vigor 
in  an  occasional  sentence,  it  was  hard  to  believe  that  the 
frail  figure  in  the  pulpit  before  me  was  really  the  impas 
sioned  and  eloquent  preacher  of  whom  I  had  heard  so 
much  from  my  father  and  mother.  He  died  in  1843.  A 
volume  of  his  sermons  was  published  by  his  widow  in 
1848. 

Although  my  mother  had  left  the  fold  of  the  Quakers 
for  the  broader  pastures  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  she 
retained  through  all  her  life  their  steadfastness  of  char 
acter.  Hatred  of  oppression  and  shrewdness  of  percep 
tion  were  ancestral  traits  to  which  she  was  no  stranger. 
Her  residence  in  Albany  brought  her  into  acquaintance 
with  all  the  leading  public  men  of  the  State  and  qualified 
her  for  the  larger  social  experience  in  the  national  capital. 
The  close  relation  in  which  she  and  my  father  stood  to 
Martin  Van  Buren  aided  the  influence  of  the  natural  gifts 
and  mother  wit  which  belonged  to  her  in  her  own  right. 
But  the  society  life  at  Washington  was  not  to  her  taste, 
and  she  continually  urged  my  father's  withdrawal  to  a 
more  private  sphere  and  the  fuller  enjoyment  of  the  home 
circle  in  which  she  found  her  supreme  delight  and  of 
which  she  was  the  central  charm. 

At  her  funeral  in  the  Mercer  Street  Church,  on  the 
Sunday  afternoon  following  her  death,  the  Reverend 
George  L.  Prentiss,  D.D.,  then  the  pastor  of  the  church, 
delivered  a  beautiful  address.  As  it  was  extemporaneous 

24Q 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

I  wrote  it  out  from  memory  and  sent  my  manuscript  to 
Doctor  Prentiss,  who  returned  it  to  me  unaltered  with 
the  exception  of  a  single  word,  and  with  a  note  express 
ing  his  wonder  that  I  could  so  nearly  reproduce  his  re 
marks.  He  was  accustomed  afterwards  to  cite  this  as  a 
remarkable  exercise  of  memory,  but  the  address  so  inter 
ested  me  in  the  hearing  that  I  retained  almost  exactly  the 
very  words  in  which  its  consoling  and  inspiring  thoughts 
had  been  clothed. 

My  mother  now  lies  in  our  family  plot  in  Woodlawn, 
and  her  grave  is  marked  by  a  stone  on  which  are  engraved 
the  following  lines  written  by  my  father: 

"Wisely  didst  thou,  true  wife  and  Mother,  bear 

Life's  toils  and  trials  and  its  follies  shun; 
Fond,  faithful,  firm;    Duty  thy  ceaseless  aim; 
CHRIST   all  thy  hope  were  every  duty  done. 

His  was  the  grace  that  crowned  thy  life  of  love 
To  him  our  smitten  hearts  entrust  thee  now; 

By  faith  we  see  thee  with  the  saints  above 
And  to  his  chastening  hand  submissive  bow." 


250 


CHAPTER  XVII 

REPEAL  OF  MISSOURI  COMPROMISE — STEPHEN  A.  DOUGLAS — POPULAR 
SOVEREIGNTY — KANSAS-NEBRASKA  BILL — BORDER  RUFFIANS — JOHN 
BROWN — "THE  CRIME  AGAINST  KANSAS" — ASSAULT  BY  BROOKS  ON 
SUMNER — MEETING  IN  BROADWAY  TABERNACLE — PIERRE  SOULE 
— THE  "BLACK  WARRIOR"  EPISODE — OSTEND  MANIFESTO — ANTHONY 
BURNS — THE  UNDERGROUND  RAILROAD — " UNCLE  TOM'S  CABIN." 

THE  first  meeting  of  Congress  after  the  election  of 
Franklin  Pierce  was  in  December,  1853.  In  his 
first  message,  the  new  President  made  fair  promises  in 
respect  to  national  affairs.  He  congratulated  the  country 
on  the  sense  of  repose  and  security  in  the  public  mind 
which  the  Compromise  Measures  had  restored.  "This 
repose,"  he  assured  the  people,  "is  to  suffer  no  shock 
during  my  official  term  if  I  have  power  to  avert  it." 

The  promised  period  of  repose  was  of  short  duration 
and  was  broken  by  a  rude  awakening.  The  Southern 
leaders,  emboldened  by  their  success  in  1850,  and  secure 
in  their  domination  in  the  councils  of  the  Democratic 
party,  lost  no  time  in  setting  on  foot  new  plans  in  the  in 
terest  of  the  slave  power.  That  fateful  word  "Com 
promise,"  linked  from  the  beginning  with  the  fortunes  of 
slavery,  was  made  to  take  on  a  new  and  portentous  sig 
nification.  Ever  since  the  year  1820  what  was  known  as 
the  Missouri  Compromise  had  stood  unchallenged  on  the 

251 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

national  statute  book.  By  the  terms  of  the  act  of  Con 
gress  which  admitted  Missouri  as  a  State,  slavery  was  pro 
hibited  north  of  latitude  36°  30.'  The  territory  thus  pro 
tected  embraced  the  entire  region  lying  west  and  north 
west  of  Missouri,  extending  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Out  of  this  territory  six  States  have  since  been  formed — 
Kansas,  Nebraska,  North  Dakota,  South  Dakota,  Mon 
tana  and  Wyoming,  as  well  as  a  part  of  Colorado.  Of 
this  vast  region,  more  than  ten  times  as  large  as  New 
York,  only  a  small  portion  was  populated,  and  that  very 
sparsely.  But  it  had  been  consecrated  to  freedom  by  an 
Act  which,  during  a  period  of  more  than  thirty  years, 
had  been  acquiesced  in  by  the  people  of  the  entire  country 
and  which  the  North  had  always  regarded  as  an  impreg 
nable  barrier  against  any  effort  to  engraft  slavery  upon 
any  portion  of  the  public  domain  lying  north  of  the 
boundary  line  solemnly  established  by  Congress  in  pur 
suance  of  the  Missouri  Compromise. 

Soon  after  the  opening  of  Congress  at  the  end  of  1853, 
and  in  connection  with  a  bill  for  the  organization  of  the 
Territory  of  Nebraska,  the  country  was  startled  by  the 
deliberate  proposal  of  Democratic  leaders  in  the  Senate 
to  repeal  the  Missouri  Compromise.  Stephen  A.  Doug 
las,  of  Illinois,  a  bold  and  able  politician,  ambitious  of 
putting  himself  at  the  head  of  his  party,  was  the  leader 
in  this  new  scheme  of  pro-slavery  aggression.  It  was 
largely  based  on  the  pretext  that  the  Compromises  of  1850 
had  introduced  a  new  principle  with  regard  to  the  right  to 
maintain  slavery  in  the  Territories  of  the  United  States, 

252 


A   RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

and  that  in  place  of  restrictive  regulation  by  act  of  Con 
gress,  the  people  of  the  Territories  had  the  right  to  decide 
for  themselves  all  questions  pertaining  to  slavery  within 
their  borders.  In  other  words,  the  entire  region  from 
which  slavery  had  been  excluded  was  now  to  be  thrown 
open  to  all  the  slave-holders  of  the  South  and  West  who 
might  choose  to  emigrate  thither  and  plant  themselves, 
with  their  families  and  slaves,  upon  its  fertile  soil.  Doug 
las  christened  his  new  doctrine  by  the  name  of  "Popular 
sovereignty."  His  enemies  dubbed  it  "Squatter  sover 
eignty." 

A  cry  of  alarm  and  indignation  went  up  from  the  entire 
North.  For  the  first  time  the  eyes  of  many  who  had 
sympathized  with  the  South  in  its  complaints  against  aboli 
tionists  and  emancipators  were  opened  to  the  true  char 
acter  of  the  slavery  propaganda,  and  the  means  by  which 
they  were  promoting  the  extension  of  slavery.  To  re 
peal  the  Missouri  Compromise  was  looked  upon  as  a 
treasonable  act,  and  the  feeling  spread  through  the  North 
that  it  would  be  in  fact,  as  in  reality  it  proved  to  be,  a 
blow  at  the  integrity  of  the  Union  and  the  supremacy  of 
its  government. 

While  it  is  probable,  perhaps  certain,  that  Franklin 
Pierce  was  not  "an  accessory  before  the  fact"  to  this  in 
famous  scheme,  he  gave  it  his  ready  acquiescence.  He 
must  have  known  that  hardly  a  greater  shock  could  be 
given  to  the  repose  he  had  promised  than  by  this  surpris 
ing  project.  It  is  said  that  after  Douglas  had  determined 
upon  his  course  he  sought  an  interview  with  Jefferson 

253 


WILLIAM   ALLEN   BUTLER 

Davis,  who  was  Secretary  of  War,  and  went  in  company 
with  him  to  the  White  House  to  lay  his  plans  before  the 
President.  This  was  on  Sunday,  January  22,  1854,  and 
although  it  was  understood  that  the  President  was  strictly 
opposed  to  receiving  visits  or  discussing  political  affairs 
on  Sunday,  Douglas  considered  the  matter  so  urgent  that 
Davis  accompanied  him  to  the  Executive  Mansion,  and, 
after  a  private  interview  with  the  President,  secured  his 
attention  to  the  arguments  of  Douglas  by  which  the  Chief 
Magistrate  was  won  over  to  give  his  approval  and  to 
promise  his  support  to  the  plan  of  repealing  the  Missouri 
Compromise.  The  historian  who  records  the  transaction 
says:  "On  this  Sunday  he  had  the  power  to  fulfill  the 
solemn  pledge  he  had  given  the  nation  and  its  representa 
tives;  but  his  hankering  after  a  renomination  made  him 
easily  susceptible  to  the  influences  which  were  brought  to 
bear  upon  him."  l 

From  this  time  till  the  end  of  May,  1854,  when  the  re 
peal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  was  accomplished,  the 
whole  country  was  in  a  ferment.  Both  in  and  out  of  Con 
gress  public  men  on  both  sides  of  the  absorbing  question 
discussed  it  with  unusual  warmth  and  vehemence.  Pub 
lic  meetings  were  held  throughout  the  North ;  and  memo 
rials  protesting  against  the  threatened  breach  of  national 
faith  were  poured  into  the  Senate  and  House  of  Represen 
tatives.  Very  many  of  the  clergy  throughout  the  North, 
who,  dreading  the  suspicion  of  complicity  with  the  Aboli 
tionists,  had  hitherto  shrunk  from  bringing  politics  into 

1  Rhodes,  "Hist,  of  the  United  States,"  vol.  I,  pp.  437,  438. 

254 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

the  pulpit,  now  broke  away  from  their  scruples  and  joined 
in  these  appeals  for  the  preservation  of  the  compact  of 
1 820.  But  all  in  vain.  Douglas  at  the  head  of  the  South 
ern  Democracy  and  their  pro-slavery  allies  at  the  North 
carried  forward  his  scheme  of  legislation  with  a  high 
hand.  The  original  Nebraska  Bill  was  amended  so  as 
to  provide  for  the  formation  of  the  Territory  of  Kansas 
as  well  as  Nebraska,  the  former  including  the  territory 
bordering  on  Missouri  and  extending  westward  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  In  both  of  these  Territories  Douglas 
claimed  that  the  people  should  be  allowed  to  legislate  for 
themselves  upon  the  question  of  slavery,  and  branded  the 
opposition  to  the  measure  as  a  "tornado"  "raised  by 
Abolitionists  and  Abolitionists  alone." 

Chase,  Sumner  and  Seward  ably  resisted  in  the  Senate 
the  consummation  of  the  pro-slavery  plot,  and  exposed 
the  treachery  and  duplicity  which  characterized  it.  As 
spokesmen  of  all  in  the  North,  who  without  respect  to 
party  ties  or  affiliations,  were  opposed  to  the  encroach 
ments  of  the  South,  they  set  in  array  the  impending  battle 
between  the  forces  of  freedom  and  slavery. 

The  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  embodying  the  repeal  of 
the  Missouri  Compromise  and  opening  the  way  for  peo 
pling  the  newly  organized  Territory  of  Nebraska  by 
Southern  slave-holders,  was  pushed  through  both  Houses 
of  Congress,  and  on  May  30,  1854,  was  signed  by  the 
President.  The  first  fruit  of  this  iniquitous  measure  was 
the  appearance  of  a  new  and  unique  class  who  have 
passed  into  history  as  "the  Border  Ruffians."  These 

255 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

were  citizens  of  Missouri  living  on  or  near  the  dividing 
line  between  their  slave-holding  State  and  the  hitherto 
free  territory  of  Kansas.  They  began  in  the  summer  of 
1854  to  invade  the  new  Territory,  not  for  the  purpose  of 
permanent  residence,  but  to  overawe,  outvote  and  out 
fight  the  immigrants  from  western  States  and  from  New 
England. 

Largely  under  the  influence  and  with  the  assistance  of 
the  Emigrant  Aid  Society,  whose  headquarters  were  in 
Massachusetts,  many  persons  had  flocked  to  Kansas  to 
plant  themselves  there  and  secure  its  exemption  from  the 
blackening  influences  of  slavery.  Their  intentions  were 
peaceful,  but  were  reinforced  by  plentiful  supplies  of 
Sharp's  rifles,  death-dealing  implements  well-known  in  the 
military  vocabulary  of  the  time.  Territorial  elections  in 
Kansas  were  made  to  result  in  favor  of  pro-slavery  candi 
dates  by  the  incursion  of  armed  Missourians  and  their 
lawless  acts  of  violence.  At  the  election  for  a  delegate  to 
Congress  in  November,  1854,  over  seventeen  hundred  of 
these  Border  Ruffians  rushed  into  Kansas  and  secured  the 
election  of  a  pro-slavery  delegate.  Later  on,  in  March, 
1855,  a  similar  act  of  invasion  and  violence  was  per 
petrated  by  five  thousand  Missourians.  Andrew  H. 
Reeder,  a  Pennsylvania  pro-slavery  Democrat,  who  had 
been  appointed  the  first  governor  of  Kansas,  but  was  too 
honest  to  continue  long  in  office,  stated  on  his  return,  in 
April,  1855,  in  a  speech  at  Easton,  Pa.,  that  "the  Ter 
ritory  of  Kansas  in  her  late  election  was  invaded  by  a  reg 
ular  organized  army,  armed  to  the  teeth,  who  took  pos- 

256 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

session  of  the  ballot-boxes  and  made  a  legislature  to  suit 
the  purpose  of  the  pro-slavery  party";  and  he  assured 
his  hearers  that  "the  accounts  of  fierce  outrages  and  wild 
violences  perpetrated  at  the  election  published  in  the 
Northern  papers  were  in  no  wise  exaggerated."  * 

From  this  time  forth  the  struggle  between  freedom 
and  slavery  in  Kansas  went  on  in  single-handed  encount 
ers,  midnight  murders,  cowardly  assassinations,  conflicts 
between  armed  bands,  open  warfare,  and  the  burning  and 
pillaging  of  buildings  and  property  owned  by  the  settlers 
from  the  free  States.  Lawrence,  their  chief  town  (named, 
I  presume,  after  Amos  A.  Lawrence  of  Boston,  who  had 
given  liberally  to  the  Emigrant  Aid  Society,  of  which  Eli 
Thayer,  a  prominent  Massachusetts  Abolitionist,  was  the 
main  promoter)  was  attacked  by  the  Border  Ruffians  and 
suffered  severely  at  their  hands. 

At  Washington,  the  President  and  the  pro-slavery 
senators  and  representatives  did  their  best  to  aid  and  sup 
port  the  organized  ruffianism  of  the  borders,  and  to  defeat 
the  will  of  the  permanent  settlers  in  Kansas,  while  the 
Congressional  debates  and  conflicting  voices  on  platform 
and  in  the  press  kept  alive  the  agitation.  As  the  constant 
reiteration  of  two  words  "Wilmot  Proviso"  had  marked 
the  period  of  the  long  struggle  over  the  admission  into  the 
Union  of  the  territory  acquired  by  the  treaty  with  Mexico, 
so,  during  the  rest  of  the  Pierce  administration,  "Bleeding 
Kansas"  became  a  household  expression  in  all  the  North 
and  the  battle-cry  in  this  new  struggle  with  the  slave  power. 

1  Rhodes,  "Hist,  of  the  United  States,"  vol.  II.,  p.  83. 

257 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

In  the  lurid  atmosphere  engendered  by  the  blood  and 
carnage  of  the  constant  strife  in  Kansas,  the  name  of 
John  Brown  appears  as  a  red-handed  avenger.  He  came 
from  Ohio  to  Ossawatomie,  where  his  sons  had  settled, 
and  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  struggling  settlers  who  were 
fighting  for  freedom.  In  May,  1856,  after  the  attack  on 
Lawrence  with  its  consequent  loss  of  life  and  property, 
Brown,  who  had  been  unable  to  reach  the  city  in  time  to 
join  in  its  defense,  felt  called  upon  to  take  revenge  upon 
the  pro-slavery  men  near  his  home.  He  seems  to  have 
been  possessed  with  the  insane  notion  that  he  was  divinely 
commissioned  to  hew  the  Agag  of  slavery  in  pieces  before 
the  Lord,  and,  full  of  the  ideas  of  Old  Testament  ven 
geance,  he  compelled  four  of  his  five  sons,  a  son-in-law, 
and  two  other  men  to  march  forth  with  him  in  the  dead 
of  night  to  capture  and  kill  the  victims  of  his  intended 
violence.  Going  from  house  to  house  they  seized  in  all 
five  men,  dragged  them  from  their  homes,  butchered  them, 
and  left  their  dead  and  mutilated  bodies  on  the  highway. 
These  midnight  murders  accomplished,  Brown  returned 
to  his  home,  and  it  is  said  that  when  he  lifted  up  his  hand 
to  ask  a  blessing  on  the  morning  meal  it  was  still  stained 
with  the  blood  of  his  victims.  Brown  was  execrated  by 
the  pro-slavery  leaders,  who  tried  to  capture  him;  but 
he  repelled  their  attacks  and  maintained  his  stand  until 
he  finally  quitted  Kansas  to  mature  his  larger  plans  for 
doing  the  Lord's  will  in  the  destruction  of  slavery.  There 
is  no  allusion  to  this  atrocious  crime  of  John  Brown  in 
Senator  Wilson's  "Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Slave  Power  in 

258 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

America,"  although  he  goes  minutely  into  the  details  of 
the  war  in  Kansas.  This  circumstance  makes  me  doubt 
his  entire  impartiality  as  a  historian. 

The  most  startling  and  deplorable  incident  of  the  strug 
gle  over  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill  in  the  halls  of  Congress 
was  the  cowardly  and  murderous  assault  by  Preston 
Brooks,  a  representative  from  South  Carolina,  on  Senator 
Charles  Sumner  of  Massachusetts.  When  Mr.  Webster 
was  called  by  President  Filmore  into  his  Cabinet,  pending 
the  contest  in  Congress  over  the  Compromises  of  1850, 
Robert  C.  Winthrop  was  appointed  by  the  Governor  of 
Massachusetts  to  fill  the  seat  left  vacant  in  the  Senate  by 
Webster,  for  the  remainder  of  his  unexpired  term.  When 
the  legislature  of  Massachusetts  met  early  in  1851  there 
were  two  United  States  senators  to  be  chosen:  one  for 
the  short  period  still  unexpired  of  Webster's  term,  and 
another  for  the  full  term  of  six  years.  After  a  struggle 
between  Whigs,  Democrats  and  Free  Soilers  and  as  the  re 
sult  of  a  combination  between  the  two  last-named  parties, 
Charles  Sumner  was  chosen,  April  24,  for  the  long  term. 
Robert  Rantoul,  Jr.,  was  chosen  for  the  short  term. 

Sumner  took  his  seat  in  the  Senate  in  December,  1851. 
In  personal  appearance  he  was  no  unworthy  successor  in 
the  Senate  of  Daniel  Webster,  whose  unique  and  unap 
proachable  personality  had  been  for  ever  withdrawn  from 
that  body.  To  a  commanding  presence,  and  features 
denoting  superior  intellectual  power,  Sumner  added  a 
remarkable  gift  of  oratory  and  almost  inexhaustible  re 
sources  of  learning.  For  some  time  after  his  entrance 

259 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

into  the  Senate  he  was  on  good  terms  with  his  associates 
in  that  body,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  repre 
sented  extreme  anti-slavery  opinions  and  had  been  out 
spoken  and  violent  in  his  denunciations  of  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law,  the  crowning  iniquity,  in  his  view,  of  the  Com 
promises  of  1850. 

As  the  purposes  and  plans  of  the  slave-holding 
oligarchy  were  gradually  developed,  and  the  insolent 
threats  by  which  they  were  accompanied  in  both  Houses 
of  Congress  became  more  and  more  intolerable,  Sumner 
took  up  the  gauntlet  thrown  down  by  the  South  in  the 
arena  of  national  politics.  He  made  a  deliberate  attack, 
not  only  upon  the  party  measure  of  the  Democrats  em 
bodied  in  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  but  also  upon  the 
chief  promoters  of  the  infamous  measure,  notably  Andrew 
P.  Butler,  a  senator  from  South  Carolina,  and  Stephen 
A.  Douglas,  the  Northern  champion  of  the  Southern 
scheme. 

Sumner's  famous  speech,  "The  Crime  Against  Kan 
sas,"  was  delivered  in  the  Senate  May  19,  1856.  It  was 
an  elaborate  and  scathing  arraignment  of  the  Pierce 
administration  for  its  complicity  with  the  Border  Ruffians 
by  whose  violence  the  will  of  the  people  of  Kansas  had 
been  subverted  and  set  aside,  and  contained  bitter  invec 
tives  against  Butler  and  Douglas.  The  speech  was  a 
scholarly  and  ornate  oration,  as  well  as  a  thorough  exposi 
tion  of  the  facts  upon  which  he  based  his  indictment  of 
the  perpetrators  of  the  crime  against  Kansas. 

At  the  close  of  the  speech  there  was  a  brief  interchange 

260 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

of  vehement  phrases  between  Sumner  and  the  senators 
whom  he  had  especially  attacked,  but  beyond  this  war  of 
words  there  was  no  hostile  action.  Three  days  later,  on 
May  22,  Brooks  committed  the  assault  which  gave  his 
name  its  sole  claim  to  historical  memory,  and  which  called 
forth  throughout  the  North  an  outburst  of  horror  and 
execration.1 

It  gave  men  a  glimpse  into  the  infernal  depths  of  the 
slavery  system,  from  which  they  recoiled  with  a  new  sense 
of  shame  and  abhorrence.  Public  meetings  were  held  in 
many  places  to  denounce  the  outrage  and  to  express  sym 
pathy  with  the  victim,  although,  perhaps,  the  predomi 
nant  sentiment  was  less  that  of  the  commiseration  for 
Sumner  than  the  feeling  that  the  blow  which  fell  on  him 
struck  at  the  freedom  of  speech  which,  of  right,  belonged 
to  a  representative  of  the  people. 

I  was  active  in  arranging  a  meeting  in  New  York,  held 
in  the  Broadway  Tabernacle,  at  which  men  of  all  shades 
of  political  opinion  united  in  condemning,  by  speech  and 
resolution,  the  dastardly  act  which  was  the  occasion  of 
their  coming  together.  I  recall  particularly  the  impas 
sioned  address  by  Daniel  Lord,  then  one  of  the  foremost 
leaders  of  the  bar,  a  Whig  in  politics,  a  conservative  in 
feeling,  and  far  removed  from  any  sympathy  with  the 
Abolitionists.  He  spoke  with  a  force  and  fervor  which 
deeply  stirred  his  audience,  and  in  describing  the  char 
acter  and  accomplishments,  and  the  claims  to  admiration 

1  For  a  full  and  graphic  description  of  this  assault,  see  Rhodes,  "History  of 
the  United  States,"  vol.  II,  pp.  139^-140. 

26l 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

and  respect  which  belonged  to  Charles  Sumner,  he  made 
the  brutality  of  the  assault  to  stand  forth  in  vivid  colors. 
Meanwhile  the  Democrats  in  both  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives  did  their  best  to  prevent  any 
condemnation  of  Brooks  or  of  Keitt,  who  was  also  con 
cerned  in  the  assault  and  the  events  growing  out  of  it. 
The  Senate  committee,  composed  wholly  of  Democrats, 
who  investigated  the  affair,  reported  they  could  do  nothing 
except  to  report  the  facts  to  the  House  of  Representatives. 
The  House  committee,  of  whom  three  were  Northern 
men  of  anti-slavery  opinions,  and  two  Southern  Demo 
crats,  made  a  majority  report  censuring  Brooks  and  recom 
mending  his  expulsion,  while  the  minority  denied  any 
jurisdiction  by  the  House  to  punish  a  member  for  an  act 
done  in  the  Senate  chamber.  The  resolution  of  expulsion 
failed  for  want  of  a  two-thirds  vote,  while  that  of  censure 
was  passed,  both  as  to  Brooks  and  Keitt,  who  thereupon 
resigned  their  respective  seats,  went  home  to  their  dis 
tricts  in  South  Carolina,  and  were  immediately  returned 
by  their  constituents  to  the  House  of  Representatives. 
Brooks  was  lauded  and  applauded  with  great  unanimity 
by  the  Southern  men  of  his  party.  He  was  feasted  and 
toasted  and  made  the  recipient  of  innumerable  marks  of 
respect  and  tokens  of  admiration,  especially  in  the  form  of 
canes  inscribed  in  honor  of  his  valiant  achievement.  It 
is  significant  that  one  of  the  men  who  united  in  this  tribute 
to  the  assailant  of  an  unarmed  and  defenseless  Senator 
was  Jefferson  Davis,  the  master  spirit  of  the  pro-slavery, 
anti-Kansas  cabinet  of  Pierce.  The  constituents  of 

262 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

Brooks  entertained  him  at  a  banquet  to  which  they  in 
vited  Davis,  who  replied  in  a  letter  in  which  he  held 
Brooks  up  to  the  sons  of  South  Carolina  as  one  who 
"has  been  the  subject  of  vilification,  misrepresentation 
and  persecution  because  he  resented  a  libelous  assault 
upon  the  representative  of  their  mother."  1 

Sumner  did  not  regain  his  health  sufficiently  to  resume 
permanent  labor  in  the  Senate  until  after  a  long  interval  of 
time,  during  which  he  made  several  visits  to  Europe  for 
medical  treatment  and  necessary  rest.  Once  or  twice  he 
assayed  to  take  up  his  senatorial  duties,  but  was  com 
pelled  to  abandon  them.  Finally,  after  submitting  to 
most  heroic  treatment  at  the  hands  of  Dr.  Brown-Sequard 
at  Paris,  he  returned  home  November  21,  1859,  restored 
to  a  sufficient  measure  of  health  to  enable  him  to  resume 
his  seat  in  the  Senate,  to  which  Massachusetts  had  re- 
elected  him  in  1857,  notwithstanding  his  continuing  dis 
ability.  He  held  it  uninterruptedly  until  his  death, 
March  n,  1874.  Both  Senator  Butler  and  Representa 
tive  Brooks,  whose  names  are  irrevocably  linked  with 
that  of  Sumner,  died  early  in  the  year  1857,  while  Keitt, 
who  was  associated  with  Brooks  in  the  attack  on  the 
Massachusetts  Senator,  subsequently  took  up  arms  against 
the  Union  and  perished  in  the  conflict. 

Charles  Sumner  was  one  of  the  ablest,  boldest  and 
most  aggressive  of  the  anti-slavery  leaders.  In  public 
office,  as  well  as  in  private  life,  his  efforts,  always  based 
on  his  convictions  of  right  and  duty,  were  somewhat 

1  Henry  Wilson,  "Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Slave  Power,"  vol.  II,  p.  489-490. 

263 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

marred  by  his  overweening  self-confidence  and  self-as 
sertion.  He  was  quite  intolerant  of  opinions  at  variance 
with  his  own.  I  recall  an  evening  which  I  spent  at  his 
apartments  in  Washington  before  he  had  purchased  his 
house  on  the  corner  of  Vermont  Avenue  and  H  Street, 
now  a  part  of  the  Arlington  Hotel.  He  then  poured  forth 
a  stream  of  invective  against  the  Lincoln  administration, 
which  had  fallen  under  his  displeasure  for  various  acts 
that  he  denounced  with  great  vigor.  But  he  was  a  true 
patriot,  and  few  men  have  given  their  lives  with  more 
devotion  to  the  service  of  their  country. 

Beside  the  infamy  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Act,  and 
the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  the  Pierce  ad 
ministration  is  chargeable  with  repeated  and  persistent, 
although  abortive,  attempts,  continued  during  several 
years,  to  secure  the  annexation  of  Cuba  to  the  United 
States.  Slavery  existed  in  the  island,  and  the  Southern 
slave-holders  looked  with  longing  eyes  upon  a  territory 
out  of  which  two  and  perhaps  three  Slave  states  could  be 
created,  giving  to  the  South  advantages  equal,  if  not 
superior,  to  those  which  had  been  gained  by  the  acquisi 
tion  of  Texas.  Even  Governor  Marcy,  who  had  been 
Secretary  of  State  from  the  accession  of  Pierce  to  the 
presidency,  favored  the  project,  and  it  was  promoted  with 
special  zeal  by  Jefferson  Davis,  Pierce's  Secretary  of  War. 

Pierre  Soule,  of  Louisiana,  a  leading  Southern  Demo 
crat  and  a  typical  fire-eater,  as  the  extreme  Southerners 
were  often  called,  was  appointed  minister  to  Spain,  with 
authority  to  negotiate  for  the  purchase  of  Cuba.  Soule 

264 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

was  of  humble  origin,  and  had  been  forced  to  leave  France 
on  account  of  his  political  opinions.1  Spain  had  no  more 
intention  then  of  parting  with  the  "ever  faithful  Isle" 
than  she  had  later  of  yielding  to  the  demands  of  the  United 
States  in  aid  of  her  oppressed  subjects;  and  Soule  soon 
found  out  that  Cuba  was  not  for  sale.  He  made  himself 
unpleasantly  notorious  by  forcing  the  Marquis  de  Turgot, 
the  French  ambassador,  into  a  duel  with  pistols,  after  the 
Marquis  had  previously  fought  a  duel  with  swords  with 
his  son,  Nelville  Soule.  The  wrong  thus  doubly  avenged 
was  an  alleged  insult  to  Madame  Soule  at  a  ball  given  by 
the  Marquis  de  Turgot  in  honor  of  the  fete-day  of  the 
Empress  Eugenie,  whose  mother,  the  Countess  of  Mon- 
tijo,  was  paramount  in  her  influence  at  the  Spanish 
Court. 

At  this  second  duel,  on  which  Soule  insisted,  on  the 
ground  that  the  insult  to  his  wife  took  place  at  the  house 
of  the  Marquis  de  Turgot  and  admitted  of  no  explanation, 
he  demanded  that  the  distance  between  the  combatants 
should  be  ten  paces.  Turgot's  second,  Lord  Howden,who 
was  at  that  time  the  English  ambassador  to  Spain,  refused 
this  demand  and  insisted  that  the  distance  should  be  in 
creased  to  forty  paces.  Soule  declared  that  this  would 
make  the  duel  a  farce,  but  it  proved  sufficiently  serious  to 
the  Marquis  de  Turgot,  for  at  the  second  shot  Soule's  ball 
struck  him  in  the  leg  above  the  knee,  causing  a  lameness 
from  which  he  never  recovered.  Unlike  the  first  duel 
the  second  ended  without  any  reconciliation. 

1  Rhodes,  "History  of  the  United  States,"  vol.  II,  p.  13. 

265 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

Notwithstanding  these  escapades,  Soule  was  allowed 
to  remain  at  the  Spanish  Court  and  watched  his  oppor 
tunity,  in  the  disturbed  state  of  political  affairs  then  exist 
ing  in  the  Peninsula,  for  something  which  might  aid  in 
the  acquisition  of  Cuba  by  fair  means  or  foul.  By  a 
special  piece  of  good  luck,  as  it  seemed  to  him,  an  occasion 
offered  for  bringing  Spain  to  terms.  The  Cuban  custom 
house  authorities  had  seized  and  detained  at  Havana  the 
steamer  Black  Warrior,  a  merchant  vessel  plying  between 
Mobile  and  New  York,  which,  in  her  regular  trips,  touched 
at  Havana  but  discharged  no  cargo  there.  She  had  pur 
sued  this  course  for  thirty-six  consecutive  voyages,  her 
cargo  being  always  permitted  to  pass  unmolested  by  the 
customs  officers  at  Havana.  Suddenly  on  Feburary  28, 
1854,  she  was  detained  on  a  charge  of  violating  the  regu 
lations  of  the  port.  The  vessel  and  cargo  were  seized 
and  confiscated.  This  was  a  serious  wrong  on  the  part 
of  the  customs  authorities,  and  justified  the  United  States 
Government  in  demanding  reparation  and  indemnity  for 
the  owners  of  the  vessel.  Soule  was  authorized  by  the 
State  Department  to  make  a  formal  demand  on  the  Span 
ish  Government  for  prompt  action  on  their  part  to  re 
dress  the  outrage. 

But  Soule  saw  in  this  incident  a  casus  belli,  and,  going 
beyond  his  instructions,  was  as  peremptory  and  unflinch 
ing  in  his  communications  with  the  court  as  he  had  been 
with  the  Marquis  de  Turgot.  Soule  was  especially  dis 
liked  by  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Senor  Calderon, 
with  whom,  while  the  latter  was  Minister  from  Spain  to 

266 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

the  United  States,  Soule  had  quarreled  in  Washington. 
Calderon  probably  suspected  that  Soule  was  exceeding 
his  instructions,  for  after  a  correspondence  which  resulted 
in  Soule's  being  foiled  in  his  effort  to  embroil  the  United 
States  in  a  war  with  Spain,  he  was  forced  to  abandon  his 
belligerent  attitude;  and  the  Black  Warrior  affair  was 
satisfactorily  settled  without  his  aid  by  negotiations  at 
Washington.  A  war  with  Spain  meant  the  speedy  and 
certain  acquisition  of  Cuba;  and  Soule,  with  the  extreme 
Southerners,  of  whom  he  was  the  representative,  had 
seized  on  the  Black  Warrior  incident  as  affording  a  pre 
text  for  a  war  with  Spain  at  a  time  when  both  France 
and  England  were  engaged  in  the  Crimean  War,  and 
unable  to  come  to  her  assistance. 

As  no  one  in  the  North  wanted  Cuba,  or  a  war  with 
any  European  power,  the  administration,  even  with  the 
help  of  the  Soule  gasconadings,  could  not  make  out  of 
the  Black  Warrior  case  a  grievance  that  called  for  a  hostile 
attitude  against  Spain. 

Meanwhile,  in  the  Southern  States,  under  color  of  the 
Black  Warrior  affair,  a  filibustering  expedition  to  aid  in 
the  conquest  of  Cuba  was  set  on  foot.  This  was  assisted 
by  rumors  of  an  impending  revolution  in  Cuba  on  the 
part  of  the  Creole  inhabitants  for  the  purpose  of  throwing 
off  the  Spanish  yoke. 

General  Ouitman,  who  had  been  governor  of  Missis 
sippi  and  was  closely  allied  to  Jefferson  Davis,  was  the 
prime  mover  in  the  scheme,  and  expected  to  be  the  leader 
of  the  forces  raised  in  the  South  and  destined  for  Cuba. 

267 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

He  had  been  in  Washington,  made  no  secret  of  his  plans, 
and  had  the  sympathy  of  many  Southern  representatives 
and  some  members  of  the  cabinet.  The  proposed  expe 
dition  was,  of  course,  a  lawless  one,  directly  in  the  teeth 
of  the  neutrality  laws  which  made  all  such  attacks  upon  a 
friendly  power  criminal  offenses.  Quitman's  project 
could  not  long  be  kept  in  the  dark.  Northern  sentiment 
was,  of  course,  outspoken  against  it,  and  at  last  the  South 
ern  sympathizers  with  the  movement  were  forced  to  yield. 
The  President,  perhaps  reluctantly,  performed  the  plain 
duty  of  issuing  a  proclamation  denouncing  the  plans  of 
the  filibusters  as  contravening  the  neutrality  laws  and 
providing  for  their  strict  enforcement.  So  it  came  about 
that  Quitman,  insisting  on  leading  his  battalions  against 
Cuba,  was  arrested  and  put  under  bonds  to  observe  the 
neutrality  laws;  and  the  wresting  of  the  "Pearl  of  the 
Antilles"  from  the  Crown  of  Spain  by  the  force  of  arms 
was  ingloriously  abandoned.  Nevertheless  the  Pierce  ad 
ministration  and  the  Southern  slave-holders  by  no  means 
relinquished  their  efforts  to  obtain  the  coveted  prize. 

Although  the  rumored  outbreaks  in  Cuba  had  no  ex 
istence,  a  real  revolution  had  occurred  in  the  capital,  and 
new  political  conditions  prevailed.  Hoping  to  take  ad 
vantage  of  this  altered  state  of  affairs,  in  August,  1854, 
our  government  appointed  a  commission  consisting  of 
Soule,  James  Buchanan  (then  Minister  to  England)  and 
John  Y.  Mason,  of  Virginia,  to  consider  the  acquisition 
of  Cuba.  The  State  Department  had  desired  the  con 
ference  to  be  informal  and  without  publicity,  but  Soule, 

268 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

true  to  his  braggadocio  methods,  soon  made  Europe  and 
America  aware  of  the  mission  with  which  his  confreres 
and  himself  were  charged.  The  three  gentlemen  met 
at  Paris,  but  after  a  short  stay  there  they  adjourned  to 
Ostend,  and  after  three  days'  deliberations  at  that  place 
went  to  Aix-la-Chapelle,  where  they  formulated  their 
views  in  a  document  that  became  famous  as  the  "Ostend 
Manifesto." 

This  was  a  most  amazing  and  unprincipled  decla 
ration  of  the  right  and  duty  of  the  United  States  to 
possess  herself  of  Cuba  by  force,  in  case  Spain  should  re 
fuse  to  sell  the  island  for  a  price  far  beyond  its  value,  the 
amount  of  which  was  left  blank  in  the  original  document 
but  understood  to  have  been  agreed  upon  by  its  authors 
as  one  hundred  and  twenty  million  dollars.  The  refusal 
of  this  offer  by  Spain  would  leave  Cuba  a  source  of  such 
continuous  danger  as  to  justify  the  United  States,  by 
every  law  human  and  divine,  in  wresting  it  from  Spain. 
The  manifesto  goes  on  to  say:  "We  should  be  recreant 
to  our  duty,  be  unworthy  of  our  gallant  forefathers,  and 
commit  base  treason  against  our  posterity,  should  we  per 
mit  Cuba  to  be  Africanized  and  become  a  second  St.  Do 
mingo,  with  all  its  attendant  horrors  to  the  white  race, 
and  suffer  the  flames  to  extend  to  our  neighboring  shores, 
seriously  to  endanger  or  actually  to  consume  the  fair  fab 
ric  of  our  Union.  We  fear  that  the  course  and  current 
of  events  are  rapidly  tending  toward  such  a  catastrophe." 

It  seems  almost  incredible  that  three  sane  men,  all 
versed  in  public  affairs,  and  one  of  them  soon  to  become 

269 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

President  of  the  United  States,  should  have  deliberately 
set  down  in  black  and  white  the  wild  and  scandalous 
proposition  contained  in  the  "Ostend  Manifesto."  It 
was  undoubtedly  the  work  of  Soule,  who  is  supposed  to 
have  coaxed  and  cajoled  his  colleagues  into  signing  it. 
He  forwarded  the  document  to  the  State  Department,  ac 
companied  with  a  letter  urging  the  immediate  seizure  of 
Cuba  at  the  present  opportune  moment  when  she  could 
not  hope  for  aid  from  England  or  France.  But  in  his 
zeal  he  had  overshot  the  mark.  Secretary  Marcy  had 
not  lost  his  senses,  nor  had  he  ever  intended  to  run  the 
risk  of  a  war  with  Spain  for  the  sake  of  Cuba,  and  he 
was  evidently  tired  of  the  bombast  of  Soule.  The  "Os 
tend  Manifesto"  was  not  endorsed  by  the  administration. 
Marcy's  acknowledgement  of  its  receipt  was  a  rebuff  re 
ceived  by  Soule  with  an  amazement  and  an  indignation 
that  were  not  diminished  when  the  Spanish  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs  declared  in  the  Cortes  that  for  Spain  to 
part  with  Cuba  would  be  a  stain  on  the  national  honor. 
This  sentiment  was  greeted  with  popular  enthusiasm  and 
effectually  closed  the  door  to  any  negotiations  for  the  sale 
of  Cuba  to  the  United  States.  Soule  resigned  as  Minister, 
and  Spain  held  Cuba  for  more  than  forty  years,  and  until 
the  atrocities  of  her  later  sway  over  the  island  forced  the 
United  States  into  the  war  of  1898,  which,  on  just  grounds 
of  humanity,  put  an  end  to  Spanish  rule  on  Cuban  soil. 
In  May  1854,  an  object  lesson  of  New  England  hatred 
of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  of  1850  was  given  in  Boston 
in  connection  with  the  capture,  and  the  return  to  slavery, 

270 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

of  Anthony  Burns,  a  runaway  slave  whose  master  had 
pursued  him  to  Boston  and  there  put  him  under  arrest 
and  carried  him  before  a  United  States  commissioner. 
This  was  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  Con 
stitution  and  Fugitive  Slave  Law.  There  was  no  ques 
tion  as  to  the  identity  of  Burns,  and  on  proof  of  the  facts 
it  was  the  duty  of  the  commissioner  to  give  up  the  slave 
to  his  master.  Richard  H.  Dana,  Jr.,  a  leading  Boston 
lawyer,  son  of  the  poet  and  the  author  of  "Two  Years 
Before  the  Mast,"  volunteered  his  professional  aid;  but 
Burns  avowed  his  conviction  that  it  was  of  no  use  to  resist. 
His  remonstrances,  however,  did  not  avail.  The  oppor 
tunity  for  an  open  revolt  against  the  infamy  of  the  Fugi 
tive  Slave  Law  was  too  tempting.  It  was  not  so  much 
that  Anthony  Burns  was  about  to  be  remitted  to  all  the 
cruelties  of  slavery  by  the  execution  of  that  abhorrent 
law,  as  that  the  soil  of  Massachusetts  had  been  made  the 
hunting-ground  of  a  slave-owner. 

All  Boston  was  aroused.  A  mass  meeting  was  held  in 
Faneuil  Hall  and  inflammatory  speeches  were  made  by 
Wendell  Phillips  .and  Theodore  Parker.  A  mob  sur 
rounded  the  court  house  in  which  Burns  was  confined. 
One  man  was  killed  and  another  wounded  in  the  melee 
which  followed  the  attempt  at  rescue,  and  the  excitement 
in  and  around  Boston  betokened  a  general  popular  up 
rising.  The  police  of  Boston,  a  special  posse  comitatus  in 
aid  of  the  marshal,  the  Massachusetts  militia  and  other 
troops  were  called  into  requisition.  President  Pierce  sent 
a  message  declaring  that  the  law  must  be  enforced,  and 

271 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

the  unfortunate  fugitive  was  marched  from  the  court 
house,  where  he  had  been  condemned  to  be  returned  to 
slavery,  to  the  revenue  cutter  which  was  waiting  at  the 
wharf  to  receive  him,  in  the  presence  of  fifty  thousand 
people  and  under  a  strong  military  escort. 

This  violent  outburst  of  wrath  in  Massachusetts  was 
an  indication  of  the  state  of  feeling  in  the  North  of  which 
the  South  might  well  have  taken  note.  If  the  object  had 
been  simply  to  rescue  Burns,  his  master  might  have  been 
tempted  by  a  large  sum  to  part  with  his  slave,  but  it  does 
not  appear  that  any  attempt  was  made  to  secure  the 
freedom  of  Burns  by  purchase.  The  only  money  item 
that  appears  in  the  history  of  the  incident  is  that  of  the 
cost  to  the  government  of  his  rendition.  This  is  var 
iously  computed  from  $40,000  to  $100,000.  The  signifi 
cance  of  the  popular  uprising  was  the  detestation  which 
the  citizens  of  the  North  had  come  to  feel  against  slavery 
itself  as  a  moral  evil,  and  a  curse  from  which  the  coun 
try  should  be  delivered.  If  these  things  were  done  in  the 
green  tree,  what  would  be  done  in  the  dry  ?  The  time 
was  not  long  distant  when  this  question  was  to  be  an 
swered  in  blood. 

The  Burns  incident  and  the  increasing  outbursts  of 
Southern  defiance  in  Congress  fastened  the  attention  of 
the  North  on  the  aggression  of  the  slave  power  with 
steadily  increasing  interest.  "The  Underground  Rail 
road,"  as  it  was  called,  an  organized  method  of  aiding 
the  escape  of  slaves  and  sending  them  from  point  to  point 
through  the  Northern  States  to  Canada,  became  more  ac- 

272 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

tive  in  its  operations,  and  a  powerful  impetus  to  anti- 
slavery  sentiment  had  been  produced  by  the  publication 
and  sale  of  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  by  Harriet  Beecher 
Stowe,  a  sister  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  the  famous  pastor 
of  Plymouth  Church  in  Brooklyn. 

This  remarkable  work  first  appeared  as  a  serial  in 
the  National  Era,  published  at  Washington.  It  at 
tracted  comparatively  little  attention  until  it  was  pro 
duced  in  book  form.  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  is  one  of  the 
classics  of  the  literature  of  the  anti-slavery  struggle. 
Longfellow  published  a  little  volume  entitled  "Poems 
on  Slavery";  the  Quaker  poet  Whittier  blew  occasional 
blasts  from  his  silver  trumpet,  deploring  the  defection 
of  recreant  leaders  and  heralding  the  praises  of  the  stead 
fast  champions  of  freedom;  and  Doctor  Channing,  the 
celebrated  Unitarian  minister,  was  not  wanting  in  vig 
orous  onslaught  against  slavery.  Great  speeches  by 
Seward,  Chase  and  Sumner  in  the  Senate  or  on  the  stump 
commemorate  their  forensic  abilities  and  patriotism. 
But  no  sermon,  song  or  speech  of  that  eventful  period 
wrought  its  way  into  the  popular  hearts  or  stirred  the 
sympathies  of  liberty-loving  people  as  did  "Uncle  Tom's 
Cabin."  It  told  the  story  of  the  shame  and  wrong  of 
slavery  as  it  never  had  been  told  before,  and  poured  a 
flood  of  light  into  the  darkest  corner  of  infamy.  There 
never  was  a  more  remarkable  instance  of  the  power  of 
fiction,  aided  by  genius  and  inspired  by  a  high  moral 
purpose,  to  arouse  the  world  for  the  destruction  of  a 
gigantic  wrong. 

273 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

'' NOTHING     TO    WEAR5' — ITS    GENESIS — PUBLICATION    AND    POPULARITY 

A  SCHOOLGIRL  CLAIMANT — REVIEWS — LITERARY  WORK  FOR  HARPER'S 
— LETTER  FROM  GEORGE  WILLIAM  CURTIS — REVIEW  BY  WILLIAM  D. 
HOWELLS — THE  POEM. 

I  FIND  among  my  father's  papers  a  draft  of  a  letter, 
dated  March  28,  1857,  to  Henry  D.  Gilpin,  his  warm 
personal  friend  and  his  successor  in  the  office  of  Attorney- 
General  in  the  Cabinet  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  in  which  he 
writes: 

"I  enclose  a  slip  from  Harper's  Weekly  containing 
a  hit  at  the  times  which  my  son  Will  lately  threw  off, 
which  may  amuse  Mrs.  Gilpin."  This  "hit  at  the  times'* 
was  "Nothing  to  Wear,"  a  poem  sufficiently  well-known 
at  the  present  time  to  require  no  special  introduction  to 
my  grandchildren  or  to  any  other  readers  of  this  page. 
I  confess  that  I  have  sometimes  felt  a  pang,  or  at  least  a 
thrill,  of  mortification  that,  after  many  years  of  toil  to 
attain  a  desired  place  in  my  profession,  my  chief,  if  not 
only,  claim  to  public  recognition  has  been  the  writing  of 
a  few  pages  of  society  verse.  But  a  lawyer's  repute  is 
among  the  most  evanescent  of  unstable  things;  and  unless 
he  has  the  good  fortune  to  connect  himself  with  some 
thing  outside  of  his  calling  which  attracts  the  popular 
gaze,  his  "name  is  writ  in  water."  During  the  two 

274 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

score  and  more  years  since  the  first  appearance  of  the 
poem  I  have  been  asked,  I  do  not  know  how  many  times, 
why  I  happened  to  write  it  and  what  gave  me  the  idea 
and  motive. 

The  genesis  of  "Nothing  to  Wear"  was  in  this  wise. 
Both  in  my  father's  family  and  that  of  my  wife  the  male 
sex  were  in  the  minority.  Of  my  father's  children,  two 
were  sons  and  five  were  daughters,  while  Captain  Mar 
shall's  included  only  one  son  and  four  daughters.  It  was 
natural,  therefore,  that  in  our  reunions  personal  topics, 
near  and  dear  to  the  feminine  heart,  should  have  been 
frequently  prominent.  Thus  in  the  course  of  time  the 
phrase  "nothing  to  wear"  in  connection  with  proposed 
entertainments  or  social  festivities  became  familiar  to  my 
ear;  and  the  idea  occurred  to  me  that  it  might  be  used 
effectively  as  the  text  of  a  good-natured  satire  against  the 
foible  of  the  gentler  sex  of  which  it  was  so  often  the  ex 
pression. 

At  first,  the  plan  of  treatment  which  I  projected  was 
to  present  a  series  of  pen  pictures  of  unfortunates,  in 
various  situations,  under  disabilities  produced  by  the 
fancied  inadequacy  of  their  wardrobes,  but  I  soon  aban 
doned  this  idea  and  cast  the  poem  in  the  mould  in  which 
it  finally  appeared  in  print.  A  little  judicious  observa 
tion,  supplemented  by  information  gathered  in  the  home 
circle,  gave  me  the  names  and  descriptions  of  the  fash 
ionable  articles  of  apparel  needed  in  depicting  the  plight 
of  "Flora  M'Flimsey,"  while  the  catalogue  of  cases  of 
destitution  was  modeled  after  the  manner  of  the  reports 

275 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

of  charitable  institutions  devoted  to  the  relief  of  poverty. 
The  idea  of  giving  a  moral  turn  to  the  subject  did  not 
occur  to  me  until  I  had  made  considerable  progress  in 
my  work  on  the  poem,  which  occupied  odd  moments  of 
leisure  in  a  very  busy  winter.  I  was  living  with  my  wife 
and  two  children  in  Fourteenth  Street,  occupying  the 
house  of  my  father-in-law  during  his  absence  on  a  South 
ern  tour,  and  I  remember  that  it  was  while  I  was  walking 
one  evening  in  a  neighboring  street  that  the  thought 
expressed  in  the  closing  lines  of  "Nothing  to  Wear" 
came  to  me,  a  sudden,  and,  I  must  believe,  a  genuine 
inspiration. 

Having  finished  the  poem,  and  after  reading  it  to  my 
wife,  I  took  it  one  evening  to  my  friend  Evert  A.  Duyck- 
inck,  whom  I  found  in  his  accustomed  place  in  the  base 
ment  of  his  house  No.  20  Clinton  Place,  surrounded  by 
the  books  which  afterwards,  under  his  will,  went  to  the 
Lenox  Library.  I  read  him  the  poem,  to  which  he  lis 
tened  with  lively  interest;  but,  much  to  my  disappoint 
ment,  he  did  not  appreciate  as  keenly  as  I  had  hoped, 
what  I  believed  and  what  afterwards  proved  to  be,  the 
elements  of  its  popularity.  While  Duyckinck  was  the 
most  genial  of  companions,  and  the  most  impartial  of 
critics,  he  was  too  much  of  a  recluse,  buried  in  his  books, 
almost  solitary  in  his  life,  and  entirely  removed  from  the 
circle  of  worldly  and  fashionable  life,  to  judge  of  my  work 
as  a  possible  palpable  hit.  However,  he  immediately 
possessed  himself  of  it  for  publication  in  Harper's 
Weekly,  then  recently  started,  and  I  at  once  acquiesced, 

276 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

making  the  single  condition  that  they  should  publish  it 
in  columns  wide  enough  to  prevent  breaking  of  the  lines. 
No  thought  of  securing  the  copyright  or  of  retaining  any 
control  in  reference  to  the  publication  of  it  occurred  to 
me,  and  the  check  for  fifty  dollars  which  in  due  course  I 
received  from  the  Harpers,  represented  the  entire  pecu 
niary  benefit  that  ever  came  to  me  from  "Nothing  to 
Wear." 

The  poem  as  it  went  to  the  Harpers  contained  305 
lines.  When  I  received  the  proof  sheets  they  were  ac 
companied  by  a  note  stating  that  the  addition  of  24  lines 
would  fill  out  the  last  page,  and  I  wrote  the  required 
number,  inserting  them  in  the  body  of  the  poem,  which 
appeared  very  handsomely  printed  in  the  number  of 
Harper's  Weekly  for  February  7,  1857.  I  very  soon 
found  that  in  venturing  to  shoot  folly  as  it  flies  I  had  hit 
the  mark.  "Nothing  to  Wear"  was  taken  up  by  the 
press,  and,  without  objection  on  the  part  of  the  Harpers, 
was  reprinted  in  newspapers  all  over  the  country.  In 
England  it  was  quite  as  popular  as  in  this  country.  It 
was  published  in  book  form  in  London  by  Sampson, 
Low  &  Co.,  who,  in  their  preface,  say  that  it  had  achieved 
in  America  a  popularity  as  great  as  that  achieved  in  Eng 
land  by  Hood's  "Song  of  the  Shirt/'  It  appeared  also 
in  various  English  magazines  and  newspapers.  Harriet 
Martineau,  in  an  article  on  "Female  Dress"  in  the  West 
minster  Review,  then,  more  than  now,  a  foremost  organ 
of  English  public  opinion,  quoted  it  entire,  and  it  thus 
found  a  place  in  a  leading  English  quarterly,  a  compli- 

277 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

ment  never  before,  I  believe,  accorded  to  an  American 
author.  Charles  Sumner,  who  was  in  Europe  at  the 
time,  sent  me  a  copy  of  the  French  prose  translation, 
which  contained  a  curious  note  in  reference  to  the  "Mrs. 
Harris"  spoken  of  in  the  opening  lines  as  "famous  in 
history."  In  utter  ignorance,  apparently,  of  Dickens's 
immortal  creation,  the  translator  stated  that  the  reference 
was  to  a  lady  who  had  lost  her  life  by  an  accident  at 
Niagara  Falls.  A  German  translation  in  verse,  with 
illustrations,  appeared  in  the  Almanach  de  Gotha. 

On  the  basis  of  this  widespread  popularity  I  asked 
Fletcher  Harper,  who  was  my  particular  friend  in  the 
publishing  firm,  to  bring  out  the  poem  in  a  volume,  but 
he  was  unwilling  to  take  the  risk,  saying  that  he  had  sold 
80,000  copies  of  the  Weekly  which  contained  it  and  that 
there  would  be  no  demand  for  the  book.  So  sincere  was 
he  in  this  belief  that  when  the  firm  of  Rudd  &  Carleton, 
composed  of  two  young  men  who  were  just  embarking  in 
business  as  publishers,  asked  leave  of  the  Harpers  to  pub 
lish  "Nothing  to  Wear,"  their  request  was  granted  with 
out  any  consultation  with  me.  Rudd  &  Carleton  pub 
lished  "Nothing  to  Wear"  in  a  rather  attractive  form 
with  illustrations  by  Augustus  Hoppin,  a  well-known 
artist.  They  afterwards  claimed,  I  believe,  to  have  sold 
twenty  thousand  copies,  and  it  was  understood  that  the 
success  of  the  book  materially  aided  the  building  up  of 
the  business  of  the  new  firm.  No  benefit,  however, 
accrued  to  me. 

I  made  a  mistake  in  publishing  "Nothing  to  Wear" 

278 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

without  giving  my  name  to  the  world  as  its  author.  It 
appeared  anonymously,  as  was  very  generally  the  cus 
tom  at  that  time  in  respect  to  articles  in  magazines  and 
periodicals,  except  in  the  cases  of  writers  whose  names 
were  exceptionally  well  known.  I  feared  that  if  I  were 
known  to  be  a  writer  of  verses,  it  might  injure  my  stand 
ing  as  a  lawyer.  Members  of  my  profession  were  per 
mitted  to  make  politics  an  adjunct  of  their  practice  at  the 
bar,  but  dalliance  with  the  Muse  and  dabbling  in  verses 
were  apt  to  come  under  the  ban  of  a  commercial  client 
age.  Public  opinion  has  undergone  a  change  in  this  re 
gard  in  the  later  years  of  the  century,  and  I  think  that  I 
may  not  unjustly  claim  some  share  in  so  modifying  it 
that  a  lawyer  may  now  make  excursions  into  the  fields 
of  literature  without  forfeiting  the  confidence  of  the  pub 
lic  in  his  ability  to  deal  with  the  weightier  questions  of 
the  law.  The  penalty  which  I  paid  for  this  overcaution 
was  that  the  authorship  which  I  did  not  avow  was  open  to 
adverse  claims,  and  an  absurd  story  was  started  that  a 
girl  of  fifteen  had  reported  to  her  family  in  their  suburban 
home  that  she  had  written  the  first  nine  lines  and  thirty 
out  of  the  concluding  portion,  and  that  the  whole  body  of 
the  poem  (290  lines)  had  been  interpolated  by  another 
hand;  that  while  on  a  visit  to  New  York  she  had  dropped 
the  manuscript,  and  shortly  after  discovered  the  missing 
lines  as  published  in  "Nothing  to  Wear." 

The  tale,  substantially  as  told  by  the  child's  father, 
was  as  follows:  "My  daughter,  about  a  year  ago,  in  a 
ramble  through  the  woods  near  the  house  where  I  reside, 

279 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

accidentally  tore  the  skirt  of  her  dress.  This  incident 
caused  her  to  exclaim,  perhaps  with  some  vexation, 
'There,  now  I  have  nothing  to  wear!'  and  this  exclama 
tion  was  succeeded  by  the  reflection,  'How  many  are  in 
the  habit  of  declaring  that  they  have  nothing  to  wear,  who 
really  have  no  just  reason  for  the  complaint,  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  multitudes  might  make  the  same  com 
plaint  with  truth,  as  well  as  sorrow!'3  He  goes  on  to 
say  that  "three  fragments,  the  first  consisting  of  nine,  the 
second  of  twenty-four,  and  the  third  of  six  lines  were 
written  by  her  on  the  same  sheet  of  paper  and  subse 
quently  brought  by  her  on  a  visit  to  this  city  (New  York). 
She  had  the  manuscript  in  her  hand  on  leaving  the  cars 
near  Twenty-sixth  Street,  and  passing  through  the  crowd 
it  was  lost." 

The  claim  thus  put  forth  in  behalf  of  this  juvenile  as 
pirant,  compelled  me  to  disclose  my  authorship,  which 
I  did  by  the  publication  of  a  card  stating  in  the  most 
explicit  and  unmistakable  terms  that  every  line  and  word 
in  "Nothing  to  Wear"  were  original  with  me  and  brand 
ing  the  claim  as  utterly  false.  My  neighbor,  Horace 
Greeley,  in  a  Tribune  editorial,  exposed  the  absurdity, 
telling  me  after  its  publication  that  he  knew  enough  of 
the  plagiarisms  of  school  girls  to  account  for  it.  Har 
per's  Weekly  also  exposed  it  as  a  manifest  fraud,  point 
ing  out  that  although  the  poem  was  published  in  Feb 
ruary,  the  spurious  claim  was  not  put  forth  until  July. 
Messrs.  Rudd  &  Carleton  lost  no  time  in  availing  of  the 
ripple  of  excitement  caused  by  this  incident  as  a  means 

280 


A   RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

of  floating  their  edition  of  "Nothing  to  Wear"  into  in 
creased  popularity,  and  they  rang  the  changes  upon  the 
pretensions  put  forward  in  behalf  of  the  supposed  girl 
author  in  sensational  advertisements,  and  by  thus  fanning 
the  flame  gave  to  her  a  transient  notoriety. 

After  all,  my  experience  was  not  an  uncommon  one 
in  the  annals  of  literature.  Ever  since  Bathyllus  lived 
to  filch  the  verses  of  Virgil,  the  anonymous  author  has 
been  pursued  by  thieving  marauders.  A  case  closely  re 
sembling  mine  was  that  of  Henry  Mackenzie,  author  of 
'The  Man  of  Feeling,"  a  popular  English  novel  published 
in  1771.  He  was  a  barrister  devoted  to  his  profession; 
and,  actuated  by  the  same  dread  of  injuring  his  prospects 
as  a  lawyer  that  prevailed  with  me,  he  gave  his  book  to 
the  world  anonymously.  Shortly  after  its  appearance,  a 
Scotchman  named  Eccles  copied  the  whole  book  with 
his  own  hand  and  with  unblushing  effrontery  asserted 
that  he  was  its  author  and  produced  the  manuscripts  in 
proof  of  his  claim.  Mackenzie  was  thereby  compelled  to 
come  forward,  avow  his  authorship  and  expose  the  im- 
poster. 

The  power  of  the  poem  is,  as  I  have  always  thought, 
in  the  moral  it  pointed,  which,  coming  after  the  light 
treatment  of  the  subject  preceding  the  closing  lines,  was 
invested  with  something  of  the  element  of  unexpectedness. 
This  view  was  very  generally  expressed  by  critics  and 
reviewers.  I  find  a  single  exception,  in  a  notice  of  the 
poem  by  a  French  reviewer,  M.  Etienne,  who,  while  re 
garding  it  as  a  genuine  example  of  American  humor, 

281 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

proceeds  to  make  known  his  dissent  from  its  moral  tone 
as  follows:  "When  I  read  these  words  I  still  admire;  I 
recognize  a  noble  and  high-toned  accent  of  satire;  but 
the  human  has  taken  wings.  I  am  brought  back  against 
my  will  to  the  memory  of  those  old  Puritans  who  founded 
the  American  nation.  The  idea  of  damnation  dissipates 
all  my  gayety,  and  I  look  to  see  if  I  have  really  before  me 
a  humorist  or  a  son  of  Calvin." 

The  Harpers,  rinding  that  the  publishing  of  "Nothing 
to  Wear  "  by  Rudd  &  Carleton  had  not  exhausted  the 
public  interest  in  it,  reprinted  it  in  the  November  number 
of  their  magazine  with  illustrations  by  Hoppin,  and  also 
shortly  afterwards  published  it  in  a  handsomely  printed 
book,  edited  by  Evert  A.  Duyckinck  and  entitled  "Eng 
lish  and  American  Poets."  They  were  very  anxious  for 
me  to  connect  myself  permanently  with  their  house  as  one 
of  its  literary  staff,  and  I  was  induced,  for  a  short  time  dur 
ing  the  temporary  withdrawal  of  Francis  Tomes,  to  write 
for  Harper's  Weekly  the  column  headed  "Chat."  In 
the  summer  of  1857  I  was  confronted  with  a  much  more 
formidable  project  of  their  devising.  My  friend  George 
William  Curtis,  who  had  written  "The  Easy  Chair"  for 
Harper's  Monthly  with  great  acceptance  to  the  publishers 
and  the  public,  was  drawn  away  from  the  Harpers  to  take 
the  editorship  of  Putnam's  Monthly.  Fletcher  Harper 
immediately  proposed  that  I  should  occupy  the  vacant 
chair,  and  would  not  take  "No"  for  an  answer.  The 
permanent  connection  with  the  Harpers  that  would  have 
followed  a  compliance  with  their  invitation  was  out  of 

282 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

the  question.  It  occurred  to  me,  however,  that  in  all 
probability  Putnam's  Magazine  would  prove  a  finan 
cial  failure,  and  in  that  event  Curtis  would  not  only  lose 
his  place  as  editor,  but  would  be  unable  to  resume  "The 
Easy  Chair"  if  it  were  filled  by  a  literary  man  dependent, 
to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  on  its  retention.  It  would, 
therefore,  be  an  act  of  friendship  to  him  if  I  should  keep 
the  chair  warm  for  his  benefit  pending  the  result  of  the 
enterprise  in  which  he  had  embarked.  Accordingly  I 
told  Fletcher  Harper  that  I  would  assume  the  editorship 
of  "The  Easy  Chair"  temporarily,  with  the  intent  of  vacat 
ing  it  in  Curtis's  behalf  should  the  forebodings  of  my 
prophetic  soul  touching  his  new  relations  be  verified. 
He  hesitated  to  commit  himself  to  reinstating  an  editor 
who,  as  he  thought,  had  forfeited  his  right  of  return,  but 
I  insisted  and  the  publishers  yielded.  For  several  months 
I  acted  as  the  locum  tenens  in  the  editorship  of  "The 
Easy  Chair."  As  I  had  anticipated,  the  publication  of 
Putnam's  Magazine  was  suspended,  and  Curtis  was 
delighted  to  find  that  I  was  not  only  willing  to  retire  in 
his  favor,  but  that  my  motive  in  assuming  his  post  was, 
in  fact,  for  his  own  benefit. 

It  is,  perhaps,  the  pleasantest  recollection  of  that  part 
of  my  life  which  threw  me  into  relations  with  publishers 
and  authors  that  I  was  able  to  reunite  the  Harpers 
to  the  most  gifted  and  accomplished  writer  that  ever 
wielded  his  pen  in  their  service.  Their  close  relations 
with  Mr.  Curtis,  thus  resumed,  continued  till  his  death 
in  1892. 

283 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

Here  is  the  note  in  which,  with  characteristic  grace  of 
feeling  and  expression,  he  acknowledged  the  service  I 
had  rendered: 

NEW  YORK,  12  Oct.,  1857. 
MY  DEAR  SIR: 

Mr.  Fletcher  Harper  showed  me  long  ago  a  courteous 
and  considerate  note  you  had  written  him  offering  to  re 
linquish  the  Easy  Chair  to  the  battered  hulk  that  had 
preceded  you  in  it,  and  that,  dismantled  in  the  storm,  was 
glad  to  slide  back  into  so  soft  a  haven.  Ever  since  then  I 
have  been  meditating  a  note  that  I  was  to  write  you  and 
the  meditation  has  kept  the  memory  so  fresh  and  pleasant 
that  I  have  been  in  no  hurry  to  write  the  note. 

Yet  you  see  here  it  is.     It  merely  makes  a  bow  and 
thanks  you;    and,  for  my  own  part,  I  feel  very  sure  the 
meditation  will  not  end  now  that  the  note  is  written. 
Faithfully  yours, 

GEORGE  WILLIAM  CURTIS. 

[In  a  notice  of  my  father's  collected  poems,  as  pub 
lished  by  the  Harpers  in  1899,  Mr.  William  D.  Howells 
gives  a  retrospective  review  of  "Nothing  to  Wear"  and 
presents  its  claims  to  a  permanent  place  in  literature,  to 
gether  with  some  personal  reminiscences  as  to  its  early 
popularity.  It  is  appended  here  as  a  wholly  impartial 
estimate  of  the  value  of  the  work  by  that  most  competent 
man  of  letters. — ED.] 

"In  the  year  1857  prairie  fires  were  still  punctual 
with  the  falling  year  on  the  plains  which  farms  and  cities 
now  hold  against  them;  and  when  one  said  that  this 
thing  or  that  was  sweeping  the  country  like  a  prairie  fire, 
everyone  else  knew  what  one  meant,  and  visualized  the 
fact  with  quick  intelligence.  But  if  I  say  now  that  in 
1857  a  new  P°em)  flashing  from  a  novel  impulse  in  our 
literature,  and  gay  with  lights  and  tints  unknown  before, 
swept  the  country  like  a  prairie  fire,  how  many,  I  wonder, 
will  conceive  of  the  astonishing  success  of  'Nothing  to 

284 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

Wear/  A  misgiving  akin  to  this  doubt  has  haunted  me 
throughout  the  volume  in  which  Mr.  William  Allen  But 
ler  has  grouped  all  he  chooses  to  give  the  public  of  his 
verse,  and  it  remains  with  me  still.  Whether  for  good  or 
for  ill,  the  pieces  are  largely  expressive  of  moods  that  are 
past,  in  terms  which  seem  dimmer  now  because  they  were 
once  so  brilliantly  actual.  They  have  the  quality  of  im 
provisation,  and  sometimes  achieve  their  happiest  effects 
with  the  facility  which  is  the  half-sister  of  slight;  even 
if  one  did  not  know  the  fact  one  would  easily  imagine 
them  the  amusement  of  a  mind  more  seriously  employed 
with  other  things;  and  it  scarcely  needs  Mr.  Butler's 
frank  acknowledgment  to  make  us  feel  that  but  for  the 
professional  devotion  of  the  able  lawyer  we  might  have 
counted  in  him  the  cleverest  of  our  society  poets. 

"I  do  not  know  but  we  may  do  this  in  spite  of  the  able 
lawyer,  for  when  I  come  to  think  of  it  I  can  recall  no  poem 
of  ours  having  so  much  the  character  of  light,  graceful, 
amiable  satire,  with  that  touch  of  heart  in  it  which  re 
claims  it  from  mere  satire,  as  'Nothing  to  Wear/  It  is 
quite  ours,  and  it  was  the  first  thing  of  the  kind  to  be 
quite  ours.  For  this  reason,  as  any  observer  of  life  will 
understand,  it  was  the  more  universally  appreciable;  and 
because  it  was  so  true  to  its  own  time,  perhaps,  it  is 
destined  to  continue  true  to  other  times.  In  it  the  prairie 
fire  crossed  the  Atlantic  and  relumed  its  flames  in  various 
countries  of  Europe,  while  it  has  remained  to  us  a  light 
of  other  days,  in  which  the  present  time  may  easily  recog 
nize  itself  if  it  cares  for  self-study.  All  the  civilizations 
are  contemporaneous,  and  the  fashionable  life  of  1857 
which  we  find  mirrored  in  'Nothing  to  Wear'  is  at  least 
no  further  from  us  than  that  which  appeals  to  our  sense 
of  modernity  in  the  Tangara  figurines.  But,  after  all, 
one  must  have  lived  in  the  year  1857,  and  been,  say,  in 
one's  twenty-first  year,  to  have  felt  the  full  significance 
of  its  message  and  shared  the  joyful  surprise  of  its  amaz 
ing  success.  If  to  the  enviable  conditions  suggested  one 
joined  the  advantage  of  being  at  that  period  a  newspaper 
man  in  a  growing  city  of  the  Middle  West,  one  had  almost 

285 


WILLIAM   ALLEN   BUTLER 

unequalled  privileges  as  a  spectator  and  participator  of 
the  notable  event.  Upon  the  whole,  I  am  inclined  to 
think  that  prairie  fire  suggests  a  feeble  image  of  the  swift 
spread  of  Mr.  Butler's  poem  under  the  eye  of  such  a 
witness;  and  I  begin  to  prefer  a  train  of  gunpowder.  I 
do  not  know  where  the  piece  first  appeared,  but  I  remem 
ber  that  with  the  simple  predacity  of  these  days  we  in 
stantly  lifted  the  whole  of  it  out  of  a  New  York  paper, 
hot  from  the  mail,  and  transferred  it  to  our  own  columns 
about  midnight,  as  if  it  were  some  precious  piece  of  tele 
graphic  intelligence.  I  am  not  sure  but  that  it  was  for  us 
something  in  the  nature  of  a  scoop  or  beat.  At  any  rate, 
no  other  paper  in  town  had  it  so  early;  and  I  think  it 
appeared  on  our  editorial  page,  and  certainly  with  sub 
heads  supplied  by  our  own  eager  invention,  and  with  the 
prefatory  and  concurrent  comment  which  it  so  little 
needed. 

"We  had  the  proud  satisfaction  of  seeing  it  copied  in 
the  evening  press  with  unmistakable  evidence,  in  the  sub 
heads,  of  having  been  shamelessly  pilfered  from  our 
columns.  We  might  have  made  out  a  very  pretty  case  of 
plagiarism  against  our  esteemed  contemporaries,  if  the 
mail  had  not  brought  us  from  every  quarter  the  proof  of 
a  taste  in  poetry  as  promptly  predacious  as  our  own. 
All  the  newspapers  published  *  Nothing  to  Wear,'  more 
or  less  fully,  and  the  common  intelligence  was  enriched 
with  a  conception,  and  the  common  parlance  with  a 
phrase,  destined  to  remain  to  at  least  the  present  period 
of  aftertime.  How  far  they  will  carry  it  over  into  the 
next  century  is  still  a  question,  but  in  the  meantime  a 
social  situation  continues  embodied  in  the  poem  without 
the  rivalry  of  any  other. 

"For  the  student  of  our  literature  'Nothing  to  Wear* 
has  the  interest  and  value  of  satire  in  which  our  society 
life  came  to  its  full  consciousness  for  the  first  time.  To 
be  sure  there  had  been  the  studies  of  New  York  called 
*  The  Potiphar  Papers/  in  which  Curtis  had  painted  the 
foolish  and  unlovely  face  of  our  fashionable  life,  but  with 
always  an  eye  on  other  methods  and  other  models;  and 

286 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

'Nothing  to  Wear'  came  with  the  authority  and  the  ap 
peal  of  something  quite  indigenous  in  matter  and  manner, 
it  came  winged,  and  equipped  to  fly  wide  and  to  fly  far, 
as  only  verse  can,  with  a  message  for  the  grandchildren 
of  'Flora  McFlimsey,'  which  it  delivers  to-day  in  per 
fectly  intelligible  terms. 

"It  does  not  indeed  find  her  posterity  in  Madison 
Square.  That  quarter  has  long  been  delivered  over  to 
hotels  and  shops  and  offices,  and  the  fashion  that  once 
abode  there  has  fled  to  upper  Fifth  Avenue,  to  the  dis 
cordant  variety  of  handsome  residences  which  overlook 
the  Park.  But  there  it  finds  her  descendants  quite  one 
with  her  in  spirit,  and  as  little  clothed  to  their  lasting 
satisfaction.  Still  they  shop  in  Paris,  still  they  arrive  in 
all  the  steamers  with  their  spoil,  still  it  shrinks  and 
withers  to  nothing  in  their  keeping.  Probably  there  are 
no  longer  lovers  so  simple-hearted  as  to  fancy  any  of 
them  going  to  a  function  in  a  street  costume,  or  in  a  dress 
which  has  already  been  worn  three  times,  but,  if  there 
were,  their  fate  would  be  as  swift  and  dire.  In  such 
things  the  world  does  not  change,  and  the  plutocrats  of 
imperial  New  York  spell  their  qualities  with  the  same 
characters  as  the  plutocrats  of  imperial  Rome. 

"It  is  this  fact  which  gives  me  reason  to  believe  that 
Mr.  Butler's  good-humored  satire  will  find  itself  as  appli 
cable  to  conditions  at  the  end  of  the  next  century  as  at 
the  end  of  this;  and  makes  me  wish  that  he  had  cast  more 
of  his  thought  in  such  lightly  enduring  form.  In  several 
other  places  of  his  volume  an  obsolete  New  York  makes 
a  pleasant  apparition;  for  instance,  a  whole  order  of 
faded  things  revisits  us  in  the  rhyme  of  'The  Sexton  and 
the  Thermometer,'  but  the  fable  of  the  old  parishioner  of 
Grace  Church,  who  finds  himself  warm  enough  because 
the  sexton  has  heated  the  mercury  in  his  glass,  is  no  such 
eternal  type  as  Miss  Flora  McFlimsey. 

"Some  hint  of  what  this  poet  might  have  been  but  for 
his  jealous  mistress  appears  here  and  there  in  the  more 
serious  poems;  and  in  one  of  these  at  least  it  breaks  into 
a  flame  of  noble  humanity.  In  the  verses  called  '  Rich- 

287 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

mond/  which  record  a  visit  to  the  Virginia  capital  in  the 
old  incredible  days  of  slavery,  the  poet  tells  how  he  passes 
suddenly  from  the  presence  of  such  heroic  memories  of 
liberty  as  Patrick  Henry  and  Jefferson  and  Washington, 
and  finds  himself  at  a  slave  auction,  among  men,  women 
and  children — 

"'All  waiting,  waiting  to  be  sold.' 

"The  history  of  the  whole  moral  condition  is  com 
pressed  in  the  lines  that  follow: 

"'Too  long  my  thoughts  were  schooled  to  see 

Some  pretext  for  such  fatal  thrall; 
Now  reason  spurns  each  narrow  plea, 

One  thrill  of  manhood  cancels  all, 
One  throb  of  pity  sets  ME  free.' 

"But  one  must  have  lived  in  those  days  fully  to  undei 
stand  these  words." 


NOTHING  TO   WEAR 

Miss  Flora  M'Flimsey,  of  Madison  Square, 

Has  made  three  separate  journeys  to  Paris, 
And  her  father  assures  me,  each  time  she  was  there, 

That  she  and  her  friend  Mrs.  Harris 
(Not  the  lady  whose  name  is  so  famous  in  history, 
But  plain  Mrs.  H.,  without  romance  or  mystery) 
Spent  six  consecutive  weeks,  without  stopping, 
In  one  continuous  round  of  shopping — 
Shopping  alone,  and  shopping  together, 
At  all  hours  of  the  day,  and  in  all  sorts  of  weather, 
For  all  manner  of  things  that  a  woman  can  put 
On  the  crown  of  her  head,  or  the  sole  of  her  foot, 
Or  wrap  round  her  shoulders,  or  fit  round  her  waist, 
Or  that  can  be  sewed  on,  or  pinned  on,  or  laced, 

288 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

Or  tied  on  with  a  string,  or  stitched  on  with  a  bow, 

In  front  or  behind,  above  or  below; 

For  bonnets,  mantillas,  capes,  collars,  and  shawls; 

Dresses  for  breakfasts,  and  dinners,  and  balls; 

Dresses  to  sit  in,  and  stand  in,  and  walk  in; 

Dresses  to  dance  in,  and  flirt  in,  and  talk  in; 

Dresses  in  which  to  do  nothing  at  all; 

Dresses  for  Winter,  Spring,  Summer,  and  Fall — 

All  of  them  different  in  color  and  shape, 

Silk,  muslin,  and  lace,  velvet,  satin,  and  crape, 

Brocade  and  broadcloth,  and  other  material, 

Quite  as  expensive  and  much  more  ethereal; 

In  short,  for  all  things  that  could  ever  be  thought  of, 

Or  milliner,  modiste,  or  tradesman  be  bought  of, 

From  ten-thousand-franc  robes  to  twenty-sous  frills; 
In  all  quarters  of  Paris,  and  to  every  store, 
While  M'Flimsey  in  vain  stormed,  scolded,  and  swore, 

They  footed  the  streets,  and  he  footed  the  bills! 

The  last  trip,  their  goods  shipped  by  the  steamer  Ardgo, 
Formed,  M'Flimsey  declares,  the  bulk  of  her  cargo, 
Not  to  mention  a  quantity  kept  from  the  rest, 
Sufficient  to  fill  the  largest-sized  chest, 
Which  did  not  appear  on  the  ship's  manifest, 
But  for  which  the  ladies  themselves  manifested 
Such  particular  interest,  that  they  invested 
Their  own  proper  persons  in  layers  and  rows 
Of  muslins,  embroideries,  worked  under-clothes, 
Gloves,  handkerchiefs,  scarfs,  and  such  trifles  as  those; 
Then,  wrapped  in  great  shawls,  like  Circassian  beauties, 
Gave  good-bye  to  the  ship,  and  go  by  to  the  duties. 
Her  relations  at  home  all  marvelled,  no  doubt, 
Miss  Flora  had  grown  so  enormously  stout 

For  an  actual  belle  and  a  possible  bride; 
But  the  miracle  ceased  when  she  turned  inside  out, 

And    the  truth  came  to  light,  and  the  dry-goods  beside, 

289 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

Which,  in  spite  of  Collector  and  Custom-House  sentry, 
Had  entered  the  port  without  any  entry. 

And  yet,  though  scarce  three  months  have  passed  since  the  day 
This  merchandise  went,  on  twelve  carts,  up  Broadway, 
This  same  Miss  M'Flimsey,  of  Madison  Square, 
The  last  time  we  met  was  in  utter  despair, 
Because  she  had  nothing  whatever  to  wear! 

NOTHING  TO  WEAR!    Now,  as  this  is  a  true  ditty, 
I  do  not  assert — this,  you  know,  is  between  us — 

That  she's  in  a  state  of  absolute  nudity, 

Like  Powers'  Greek  Slave  or  the  Medici  Venus; 

But  I  do  mean  to  say,  I  have  heard  her  declare, 
When  at  the  same  moment  she  had  on  a  dress 
Which  cost  five  hundred  dollars,  and  not  a  cent  less, 
And  jewelry  worth  ten  times  more,  I  should  guess, 

That  she  had  not  a  thing  in  the  wide  world  to  wear! 

I  should  mention  just  here,  that  out  of  Miss  Flora's 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  or  sixty  adorers, 

I  had  just  been  selected  as  he  who  should  throw  all 

The  rest  in  the  shade,  by  the  gracious  bestowal 

On  myself,  after  twenty  or  thirty  rejections, 

Of  those  fossil  remains  which  she  called  her  "affections," 

And  that  rather  decayed,  but  well-known  work  of  art, 

Which  Miss  Flora  persisted  in  styling  her  "heart." 

So  we  were  engaged.     Our  troth  had  been  plighted, 

Not  by  moonbeam  or  starbeam,  by  fountain  or  grove, 
But  in  a  front  parlor,  most  brilliantly  lighted, 

Beneath  the  gas-fixtures,  we  whispered  our  love. 
Without  any  romance,  or  raptures,  or  sighs, 
Without  any  tears  in  Miss  Flora's  blue  eyes, 
Or  blushes,  or  transports,  or  such  silly  actions, 
It  was  one  of  the  quietest  business  transactions, 
With  a  very  small  sprinkling  of  sentiment,  if  any, 

290 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

And  a  very  large  diamond  imported  by  Tiffany. 

On  her  virginal  lips  while  I  printed  a  kiss, 

She  exclaimed,  as  a  sort  of  parenthesis, 

And  by  way  of  putting  me  quite  at  my  ease, 

"  You  know  I'm  to  polka  as  much  as  I  please, 

And  flirt  when  I  like — now,  stop,  don't  you  speak — 

And  you  must  not  come  here  more  than  twice  in  the  week, 

Or  talk  to  me  either  at  party  or  ball, 

But  always  be  ready  to  come  when  I  call; 

So  don't  prose  to  me  about  duty  and  stuff, 

If  we  don't  break  this  off,  there  will  be  time  enough 

For  that  sort  of  thing;   but  the  bargain  must  be 

That,  as  long  as  I  choose,  I  am  perfectly  free— 

For  this  is  a  kind  of  engagement,  you  see, 

Which  is  binding  on  you,  but  not  binding  on  me." 

Well,  having  thus  wooed  Miss  M'Flimsey  and  gained  her 

With  the  silks,  crinolines,  and  hoops  that  contained  her, 

I  had,  as  I  thought,  a  contingent  remainder 

At  least  in  the  property,  and  the  best  right 

To  appear  as  its  escort  by  day  and  by  night; 

And  it  being  the  week  of  the  STUCKUP'S  grand  ball — 

Their  cards  had  been  out  a  fortnight  or  so, 

And  set  all  the  Avenue  on  the  tiptoe — 
I  considered  it  only  my  duty  to  call, 

And  see  if  Miss  Flora  intended  to  go. 
I  found  her — as  ladies  are  apt  to  be  found, 
When  the  time  intervening  between  the  first  sound 
Of  the  bell  and  the  visitor's  entry  is  shorter 
Than  usual — I  found;   I  won't  say — I  caught  her, 
Intent  on  the  pier-glass,  undoubtedly  meaning 
To  see  if  perhaps  it  didn't  need  cleaning. 
She  turned  as  I  entered — "Why,  Harry,  you  sinner, 
I  thought  that  you  went  to  the  Flashers'  to  dinner!" 
"So  I  did,"  I  replied,  "but  the  dinner  is  swallowed, 

And  digested,  I  trust,  for  'tis  now  nine  and  more, 
So,  being  relieved  from  that  duty,  I  followed 

2QI 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

Inclination,  which  led  me,  you  see,  to  your  door; 
And  now  will  your  ladyship  so  condescend 
As  just  to  inform  me  if  you  intend 
Your  beauty,  and  graces,  and  presence  to  lend 
(All  of  which,  when  I  own,  I  hope  no  one  will  borrow) 
To  the  STUCKUP'S,  whose  party,  you  know,  is  tomorrow?" 
The  fair  Flora  looked  up,  with  a  pitiful  air, 
And  answered  quite  promptly,  "  Why,  Harry,  mon  cher, 
I  should  like  above  all  things  to  go  with  you  there, 
But  really  and  truly — I've  nothing  to  wear." 

"Nothing  to  wear!   go  just  as  you  are; 
Wear  the  dress  you  have  on,  and  you'll  be  by  far, 
I  engage,  the  most  bright  and  particular  star 

On  the  Stuckup  horizon — "   I  stopped,  for  her  eye, 
Notwithstanding  this  delicate  onset  of  flattery, 
Opened  on  me  at  once  a  most  terrible  battery 

Of  scorn  and  amazement.  She  made  no  reply, 
But  gave  a  slight  turn  to  the  end  of  her  nose — 

That  pure  Grecian  feature — as  much  as  to  say, 
"How  absurd  that  any  sane  man  should  suppose 
That  a  lady  would  go  to  a  ball  in  the  clothes, 

No  matter  how  fine,  that  she  wears  every  day!" 
So  I  ventured  again:     "Wear  your  crimson  brocade" — 
(Second  turn  up  of  nose) — "That's  too  dark  by  a  shade." 
"Your  blue  silk"— "That's  too  heavy."     "Your  pink"— "That's 

too  light." 

"Wear  tulle  over  satin" — "I  can't  endure  white." 
"Your  rose-colored,  then,  the  best  of  the  batch" — 
"I  haven't  a  thread  of  point-lace  to  match." 
"Your  brown  moire  antique" — "Yes,  and  look  like  a  Quaker." 
"The  pearl-colored" — "I  would,  but  that  plaguy  dress-maker 
Has  had  it  a  week."     "Then  that  exquisite  lilac, 
In  which  you  would  melt  the  heart  of  a  Shylock" — 
(Here  the  nose  took  again  the  same  elevation) — 
"I  wouldn't  wear  that  for  the  whole  of  creation." 
"Why  not?     It's  my  fancy,  there's  nothing  could  strike  it 

2q2 


A  RETROSPECT   OF   FORTY  YEARS 

As  more  comme  ilfaut" — "Yes,  but,  dear  me,  that  lean 
Sophronia  Stuckup  has  got  one  just  like  it, 

And  I  won't  appear  dressed  like  a  chit  of  sixteen." 
"Then  that  splendid  purple,  that  sweet  Mazarine; 
That  superb  point  d'aiguille,  that  imperial  green, 
That  zephyr-like  tarletan,  that  rich  grenadine" — 
"Not  one  of  all  which  is  fit  to  be  seen," 
Said  the  lady,  becoming  excited  and  flushed. 
"Then  wear,"  I  exclaimed,  in  a  tone  which  quite  crushed 

Opposition,  "that  gorgeous  toilette  which  you  sported 
In  Paris  last  spring,  at  the  grand  presentation, 
When  you  quite  turned  the  head  of  the  head  of  the  nation, 

And  by  all  the  grand  court  were  so  very  much  courted." 

The  end  of  the  nose  was  portentiously  tipped  up, 
And  both  the  bright  eyes  shot  forth  indignation, 
As  she  burst  upon  me  with  the  fierce  exclamation, 
"I  have  worn  it  three  times,  at  the  least  calculation, 

And  that  and  most  of  my  dresses  are  ripped  up!" 
Here  I  ripped  out  something,  perhaps  rather  rash, 

Quite  innocent,  though;   but,  to  use  an  expression 
More  striking  than  classic,  it  "settled  my  hash," 

And  proved  very  soon  the  last  act  of  our  session. 
"Fiddlesticks,  is  it,  sir?     I  wonder  the  ceiling 
Doesn't  fall  down  and  crush  you — you  men  have  no  feeling; 
You  selfish,  unnatural,  illiberal  creatures, 
Who  set  yourselves  up  as  patterns  and  preachers, 
Your  silly  pretence — why,  what  a  mere  guess  it  is! 
Pray,  what  do  you  know  of  a  woman's  necessities? 
I  have  told  you  and  shown  you  I've  nothing  to  wear, 
And  it's  perfectly  plain  you  not  only  don't  care, 
But  you  do  not  believe  me" — (here  the  nose  went  still  higher)- 
"  I  suppose,  if  you  dared,  you  would  call  me  a  liar. 
Our  engagement  is  ended,  sir — yes,  on  the  spot; 
You're  a  brute,  and  a  monster,  and — I  don't  know  what." 
I  mildly  suggested  the  words  Hottentot, 
Pick-pocket,  and  cannibal,  Tartar,  and  thief, 

293 


As  gentle  expletives  which  might  give  relief; 
But  this  only  proved  as  a  spark  to  the  powder, 
And  the  storm  I  had  raised  came  faster  and  louder; 
It  blew  and  it  rained,  thundered,  lightened,  and  hailed 
Interjections,  verbs,  pronouns,  till  language  quite  failed 
To  express  the  abusive,  and  then  its  arrears 
Were  brought  up  all  at  once  by  a  torrent  of  tears, 
And  my  last  faint,  despairing  attempt  at  an  obs- 
Ervation  was  lost  in  a  tempest  of  sobs. 

Well,  I  felt  for  the  lady,  and  felt  for  my  hat,  too, 

Improvised  on  the  crown  of  the  latter  a  tattoo, 

In  lieu  of  'expressing  the  feelings  which  lay 

Quite  too  deep  for  words,  as  Wordsworth  would  say; 

Then,  without  going  through  the  form  of  a  bow, 

Found  myself  in  the  entry — I  hardly  knew  how, 

On  door-step  and  sidewalk,  past  lamp-post  and  square, 

At  home  and  up-stairs,  in  my  own  easy-chair; 

Poked  my  feet  into  slippers,  my  fire  into  blaze, 
And  said  to  myself,  as  I  lit  my  cigar, 
"  Supposing  a  man  had  the  wealth  of  the  Czar 

Of  the  Russias  to  boot,  for  the  rest  of  his  days, 
On  the  whole,  do  you  think  he  would  have  much  to  spare, 
If  he  married  a  woman  with  nothing  to  wear?" 

Since  that  night,  taking  pains  that  it  should  not  be  bruited 

Abroad  in  society,  I've  instituted 

A  course  of  inquiry,  extensive  and  thorough, 

On  this  vital  subject,  and  find,  to  my  horror, 

That  the  fair  Flora's  case  is  by  no  means  surprising, 

But  that  there  exists  the  greatest  distress 
In  our  female  community,  solely  arising 

From  this  unsupplied  destitution  of  dress, 
Whose  unfortunate  victims  are  filling  the  air 
With  the  pitiful  wail  of  "Nothing  to  wear." 
Researches  in  some  of  the  "  Upper  Ten' '  districts 

294 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

Reveal  the  most  painful  and  startling  statistics, 
Of  which  let  me  mention  only  a  few: 
In  one  single  house,  on  the  Fifth  Avenue, 
Three  young  ladies  were  found,  all  below  twenty-two, 
Who  have  been  three  whole  weeks  without  anything  new 
In  the  way  of  flounced  silks,  and  thus  left  in  the  lurch 
Are  unable  to  go  to  ball,  concert,  or  church. 
In  another  large  mansion,  near  the  same  place, 
Was  found  a  deplorable,  heart-rending  case 
Of  entire  destitution  of  Brussels  point-lace. 
In  a  neighboring  block  there  was  found,  in  three  calls, 
Total  want,  long  continued,  of  camePs-hair  shawls; 
And  a  suffering  family,  whose  case  exhibits 
The  most  pressing  need  of  real  ermine  tippets; 
One  deserving  young  lady  almost  unable 
To  survive  for  the  want  of  a  new  Russian  sable; 
Still  another,  whose  tortures  have  been  most  terrific 
Ever  since  the  sad  loss  of  the  steamer  Pacific, 
In  which  were  engulfed,  not  friend  or  relation 
(For  whose  fate  she  perhaps  might  have  found  consolation, 
Or  borne  it,  at  least,  with  serene  resignation), 
But  the  choicest  assortment  of  French  sleeves  and  collars 
Ever  sent  out  from  Paris,  worth  thousands  of  dollars, 
And  all  as  to  style  most  recherche  and  rare, 
The  want  of  which  leaves  her  with  nothing  to  wear, 
And  renders  her  life  so  drear  and  dyspeptic 
That  she's  quite  a  recluse,  and  almost  a  sceptic, 
For  she  touchingly  says  that  this  sort  of  grief 
Cannot  find  in  Religion  the  slightest  relief, 
And  Philosophy  has  not  a  maxim  to  spare 
For  the  victims  of  such  overwhelming  despair. 
But  the  saddest,  by  far,  of  all  these  sad  features 
Is  the  cruelty  practised  upon  the  poor  creatures 
By  husbands  and  fathers,  real  Bluebeards  and  Timons, 
Who  resist  the  most  touching  appeals  made  for  diamonds 
By  their  wives  and  their  daughters,  and  leave  them  for  days 

295 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

Unsupplied  with  new  jewelry,  fans,  or  bouquets, 

Even  laugh  at  their  miseries  whenever  they  have  a  chance, 

And  deride  their  demands  as  useless  extravagance. 

One  case  of  a  bride  was  brought  to  my  view, 

Too  sad  for  belief,  but,  alas!   'twas  too  true, 

Whose  husband  refused,  as  savage  as  Charon, 

To  permit  her  to  take  more  than  ten  trunks  to  Sharon. 

The  consequence  was,  that  when  she  got  there, 

At  the  end  of  three  weeks  she  had  nothing  to  wear, 

And  when  she  proposed  to  finish  the  season 

At  Newport,  the  monster  refused,  out  and  out, 

For  his  infamous  conduct  alleging  no  reason, 

Except  that  the  waters  were  good  for  his  gout; 

Such  treatment  as  this  was  too  shocking,  of  course, 

And  proceedings  are  now  going  on  for  divorce. 

But  why  harrow  the  feelings  by  lifting  the  curtain 
From  these  scenes  of  woe?     Enough,  it  is  certain, 
Has  here  been  disclosed  to  stir  up  the  pity 
Of  every  benevolent  heart  in  the  city, 
And  spur  up  Humanity  into  a  canter 
To  rush  and  relieve  these  sad  cases  instanter. 
Won't  somebody,  moved  by  this  touching  description, 
Come  forward  to-morrow  and  head  a  subscription? 
Won't  some  kind  philanthropist,  seeing  that  aid  is 
So  needed  at  once  by  these  indigent  ladies, 
Take  charge  of  the  matter?     Or  won't  Peter  Cooper 
The  corner-stone  lay  of  some  new  splendid  super- 
Structure,  like  that  which  to-day  links  his  name 
In  the  Union  unending  of  Honor  and  Fame, 
And  found  a  new  charity  just  for  the  care 
Of  these  unhappy  women  with  nothing  to  wear, 
Which,  in  view  of  the  cash  which  would  daily  be  claimed, 
The  Laying-out  Hospital  well  might  be  named  ? 
Won't  Stewart,  or  some  of  our  dry-goods  importers, 
Take  a  contract  for  clothing  our  wives  and  our  daughters? 

2Q6 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

Or,  to  furnish  the  cash  to  supply  these  distresses, 
And  life's  pathway  strew  with  shawls,  collars,  and  dresses, 
For  poor  womankind,  won't  some  venturesome  lover 
A  new  California  somewhere  discover? 

O  ladies,  dear  ladies,  the  next  sunny  day 
Please  trundle  your  hoops  just  out  of  Broadway, 
From  its  whirl  and  its  bustle,  its  fashion  and  pride, 
And  the  temples  of  Trade  which  tower  on  each  side, 
To  the  alleys  and  lanes,  where  Misfortune  and  Guilt 
Their  children  have  gathered,  their  city  have  built; 
Where  Hunger  and  Vice,  like  twin  beasts  of  prey, 

Have  hunted  their  victims  to  gloom  and  despair; 
Raise  the  rich,  dainty  dress,  and  the  fine  broidered  skirt, 
Pick  your  delicate  way  through  the  dampness  and  dirt, 

Grope  through  the  dark  dens,  climb  the  rickety  stair 
To  the  garret,  where  wretches,  the  young  and  the  old, 
Half  starved  and  half  naked,  lie  crouched  from  the  cold; 
See  those  skeleton  limbs,  those  frost-bitten  feet, 
All  bleeding  and  bruised  by  the  stones  of  the  street; 
Hear  the  sharp  cry  of  childhood,  the  deep  groans  that  swell 

From  the  poor  dying  creature  who  writhes  on  the  floor; 
Hear  the  curses  that  sound  like  the  echoes  of  Hell, 

As  you  sicken  and  shudder  and  fly  from  the  door; 
Then  home  to  your  wardrobes,  and  say,  if  you  dare — 
Spoiled  children  of  fashion — you've  nothing  to  wear! 
And  O,  if  perchance  there  should  be  a  sphere 
Where  all  is  made  right  which  so  puzzles  us  here, 
Where  the  glare  and  the  glitter  and  tinsel  of  Time 
Fade  and  die  in  the  light  of  that  region  sublime, 
Where  the  soul,  disenchanted  of  flesh  and  of  sense, 
Unscreened  by  its  trappings  and  shows  and  pretence, 
Must  be  clothed  for  the  life  and  the  service  above, 
With  purity,  truth,  faith,  meekness,  and  love, 
O  daughters  of  Earth!   foolish  virgins,  beware! 
Lest  in  that  upper  realm  you  have  nothing  to  wear! 

297 


REPUBLICAN  PARTY — PRESIDENTIAL  CAMPAIGN  OF  1856 — PRESIDENT  BU 
CHANAN — LECOMPTON  CONVENTION — THE  ENGLISH  BILL — TRIP  SOUTH 
WITH  CAPTAIN  MARSHALL — "AT  RICHMOND" — "TWO  MILLIONS." 

T  TNDER  the  storm  and  stress  of  the  conflicting  voices 
^-^  and  contending  forces  aroused  by  the  struggle  over 
Kansas,  public  opinion  at  the  North  was  more  and  more 
concentrated  upon  the  absorbing  issue  of  the  exclusion 
of  slavery  from  free  territory.  There  was  a  return  by 
men  of  all  parties  who  opposed  interference  with  slavery 
in  the  States  but  favored  its  exclusion  by  Congress  from 
all  the  Territories,  where  it  had  no  legal  existence,  to  the 
simple  doctrine  first  announced  by  the  Free  Soil  party  in 
its  Buffalo  platform  in  1848,  "No  more  slave  States  and 
no  more  slave  territory/'  To  use  a  favorite  illustration 
of  the  time,  the  friends  of  freedom  would  draw  a  belt  of 
fire  around  the  slave-holding  States,  hemming  in  the 
hated  institution  and  setting  a  barrier  to  its  incursions 
into  free  territory. 

Out  of  this  increasing  sentiment  the  political  leaders 
at  the  North,  while  opposing  the  Abolitionists,  saw  that 
the  revival  of  anti-slavery  agitation,  partially  checked 
by  the  Compromises  of  1850,  menaced  the  disintegration 
of  both  the  Whig  and  Democratic  parties.  They  united  in 

298 


A   RETROSPECT  OE   FORTY  YEARS 

creating  the  Republican  party,  which  came  into  existence 
in  1854,  and  held  on  June  17,  1856,  at  Philadelphia  its 
first  national  convention.  This  convention  nominated 
for  president  John  C.  Fremont,  of  California,  and  for 
vice-president  William  L.  Dayton,  of  New  Jersey. 

Fremont  was  a  candidate  of  the  picturesque  and 
romantic  type.  He  had  been  an  early  explorer  in  the 
far  West  and  on  the  Pacific  coast,  where  his  career  had 
been  one  of  adventure  and  peril.  He  had  been  active  in 
all  the  steps,  civil  and  military,  by  which  California  had 
been  brought  into  the  Union,  and  for  a  short  time  had 
been  a  United  States  Senator  from  that  State.  He  had 
well  earned  the  title  of  "Pathfinder/*  which  was  used 
with  good  effect  in  his  campaign  for  the  presidency, 
which  was  also  aided  by  popular  interest  in  his  wife,  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  H.  Benton,  the  famous  senator  from 
Missouri,  who  had  shared  the  vicissitudes  of  her  hus 
band's  frontier  life  and  was  associated  in  his  hardships 
and  successes.  I  met  General  Fremont  at  dinner  in  my 
father's  house,  No.  31  West  Seventeenth  Street,  in  the 
spring  of  1856.  He  impressed  me  as  an  interesting  and 
attractive  man,  but  not  made  of  quite  the  stuff  which, 
at  that  period  of  our  national  history,  seemed  requisite  for 
a  presidential  candidate.  While  his  canvass  aroused 
much  enthusiasm  and  consolidated  the  activities  of  the 
members  of  the  new  party  by  patriotic  fervor  in  bright 
contrast  with  the  old-time  conservatism  of  the  Whigs 
and  Democrats,  the  time  was  not  ripe  for  Republican 
ascendency. 

299 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

Before  Fremont  had  been  placed  in  the  field  by  the  Re 
publican  party  the  Democratic  convention  had  nominated 
James  Buchanan,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  John  C.  Breck- 
inridge,  of  Kentucky,  as  candidates  for  the  presidency  and 
vice-presidency.  Pierce,  notwithstanding  his  subserviency 
to  the  slave  power,  failed  of  renomination,  as  did  also 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  who  was  deemed  to  have  been  so 
aggressive  in  his  advocacy  of  "Popular  Sovereignty"  as  to 
endanger  the  success  of  the  party  in  the  Northern  States. 
Buchanan  had  been  out  of  the  country,  representing  it 
at  the  Court  of  St.  James  in  the  plain  every-day  dress  of 
an  American  gentleman,  which  the  requirements  of  the 
State  Department,  as  administered  by  Governor  Marcy, 
had  substituted  for  the  varieties  of  court  costume  pre 
viously  worn  by  American  diplomats  in  European  cap 
itals.  Buchanan's  participation  in  the  Ostend  scandal 
was  not  regarded  as  an  obstacle  to  his  election,  and  his 
long  public  career  and  general  respectability  made  him 
an  available  candidate. 

The  lines  were  squarely  drawn  between  the  contend 
ing  parties.  The  Republicans  stood  on  already  defiant 
principles  of  opposition  to  any  extension  of  slavery  be 
yond  the  slave  States,  and  on  the  paramount  duty  of 
Congress  to  legislate  to  that  end,  while  the  Democrats 
denounced  interference  by  Congress  to  prevent  the  people 
of  the  South  from  entering  the  Territories  with  their 
slaves.  The  Democratic  platform  adopted  "The  Balti 
more  Resolves  of  1852,"  and  declared  "with  renewed 
energy  of  purpose,  the  well-considered  declarations  of 

300 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

former  conventions  upon  the  sectional  issue  of  domestic 
slavery,"  and  "the  principles  contained  in  the  organic 
laws  establishing  the  Territories  of  Kansas  and  Ne 
braska."  It  claimed  for  the  people  of  all  the  Territories 
the  right  to  form  a  constitution  with  or  without  domestic 
slavery  and  upon  terms  of  perfect  equality  with  the  other 
States.  Thus  were  put  forward  the  doctrines  of  Douglas, 
although  he  was  denied  the  privilege  of  being  the  stand 
ard-bearer  in  the  fight  for  their  supremacy. 

Democracy  triumphed  in  1856  as  in  1852;  but  only 
after  a  bitter  contest.  Fremont  and  Dayton,  while  re 
ceiving  a  plurality  of  the  popular  vote  and  carrying  New 
York,  failed  to  carry  Pennsylvania,  Illinois  and  Indiana. 
Buchanan  received  174  electoral  votes;  Fremont  114,  and 
Millard  Fillmore,  the  candidate  of  the  so-called  "Ameri 
can  Party,"  received  the  8  votes  of  Maryland.  In  New 
York,  alternate  hopes  and  fears  had  prevailed  during  the 
summer  and  fall;  and  it  was  a  great  disappointment 
when  the  result  was  announced  amid  the  exultations  of 
the  Democracy.  But  in  the  retrospect,  it  is  easy  to  see 
that  the  defeat  of  1856  was  a  far  surer  presage  of  the  vic 
tory  to  be  gained  in  1860,  than  would  have  been  the 
success  that  was  so  earnestly  coveted  and  sought  for. 
A  united  North  was  needed  to  cope  with  the  "Solid 
South";  and  another  four  years  of  slavery  aggression 
were  needed  to  show  the  full  extent  of  slavery's  disloyalty 
to  the  Union. 

Buchanan  was  the  last  of  the  pro-slavery  presidents. 
In  one  of  his  latest  messages,  on  the  eve  of  his  retire- 

301 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

ment  from  office,  he  described  himself  in  a  somewhat 
pathetic  phrase  as  "an  old  public  functionary."  And  this 
in  fact  he  was,  a  man  of  routine,  careful  of  precedents, 
wedded  to  the  doctrines  which  he  had  professed  during 
his  whole  political  life,  and  cherishing  a  horror  of  men 
given  to  change,  within  or  without  his  party,  and  espe 
cially  of  those  who  sought  to  check  the  course  of  slavery 
and  the  slave  power.  His  subserviency  to  the  South  was 
complete.  With  new  zeal,  but  on  a  different  footing 
from  the  policy  of  his  predecessor,  he  took  up  the  lingering 
and  long-drawn-out  contest  against  the  people  of  Kansas 
in  their  struggle  with  border  ruffianism. 

When  Congress  met  in  December  1857,  tne  country 
was  surprised  to  find  that  Douglas,  the  author,  exponent 
and  champion  of  "Popular  Sovereignty,"  was  an  avowed 
opponent  of  the  President  and  the  administration.  Kan 
sas  had  been  enjoying  a  temporary  period  of  quiet  under 
the  administration  of  Governor  Geary,  a  man  of  ability 
and  fairness,  disposed  to  deal  justly  with  the  people  and 
to  secure  their  rights.  But  he  was  soon  displaced;  and 
the  pro-slavery  conspirators  at  Washington  busied  them 
selves  in  forging  a  new  link  in  the  chain  by  which  they 
hoped  to  bind  "Bleeding  Kansas"  still  more  firmly  in 
captivity  to  their  will. 

The  new  device  was  carried  out  by  calling  a  constitu 
tional  convention  to  meet  at  Lecompton  in  October,  1857. 
The  delegates  representing  pro-slavery  partisans,  largely 
elected  by  fraudulent  votes,  adopted  a  constitution  so 
framed  as  to  require  a  submission  to  popular  vote  only  in 

302 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY   YEARS    . 

such  a  way  as  to  insure  the  continued  existence  and  pro 
tection  to  slavery.  The  free  settlers  abstained  from  vot 
ing  either  for  delegates  to  the  convention  or  for  the  pro 
posed  constitution;  and  the  result  of  their  absence  from 
the  polls  was  that  the  Lecompton  Constitution  received 
the  affirmative  vote  only  of  the  pro-slavery  settlers  and 
their  fraudulent  abettors.  Nevertheless  it  was  accepted 
by  President  Buchanan;  and  he  determined  to  repre 
sent  to  Congress  that  it  expressed  the  will  of  the  people 
of  the  Territory.  This  extraordinary  course  of  action,  at 
variance  with  the  rights  of  the  people  of  the  territory, 
gave  Douglas  an  opportunity  for  defiant  and  effective  op 
position.  He  saw  clearly  that  if  the  administration  policy 
prevailed,  his  leadership  was  lost;  and  by  something 
like  a  coup  de  theatre  he  hurled  defiance  against  the 
Lecompton  policy. 

After  the  reading  of  the  President's  message,  Douglas 
made  the  bold  declaration,  "I  totally  dissent  from  that 
portion  of  the  Message  which  may  fairly  be  construed  as 
approving  the  proceedings  of  the  Lecompton  Conven 
tion."  This  was  an  open  declaration  of  war,  on  his 
part,  against  Buchanan  and  his  extreme  coadjutors.  It 
excited  wide-spread  interest  and  no  little  admiration  in 
the  North  because,  though  it  was  well-known  that  the 
action  of  Douglas  was  not  inspired  by  any  preference  for 
t'reedom,  as  he  had  said  in  the  Senate  that  he  did  not  care 
whether  slavery  was  "  voted  down  or  voted  w/>,"  it  made 
him  the  open  opponent  of  the  ultra  pro-slavery  portion 

1  William  G.  Sumner,  "Andrew  Jackson,"  p.  167. 

303 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

of  his  own  party.  He  had  most  adroitly,  at  the  opening 
of  Congress,  turned  the  attention  of  the  public  from 
Buchanan,  his  successful  rival  for  the  presidency,  and 
centered  it  on  himself  in  his  supreme  effort  to  retain  his 
prestige,  and  leadership.  Later,  in  the  spring  of  1857, 
he  came  to  the  City  of  New  York.  I  met  him  at  a  recep 
tion  given  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bancroft.  He  had  just  mar 
ried  the  foremost  belle  of  Washington  society,  who,  as 
our  hostess  said  to  me,  had  been  a  queen  before  she  was 
a  senator's  wife.1  She  accompanied  her  husband  on  his 
Eastern  tour,  and  was  certainly  a  woman  of  remarkable 
beauty  and  intelligence.  Douglas  himself,  while  not  pre 
possessing  in  appearance,  being  of  diminutive  stature 
with  a  disproportionately  large  head,  was,  of  course,  a 
most  interesting  and  impressive  figure;  and,  owing  to 
his  stand  against  the  controlling  element  of  his  own  party, 
was  hailed  with  something  of  the  applause  accorded  a 
hero. 

The  defection  of  Douglas  and  his  fight  against  the 
Lecompton  Constitution  was  the  entering  wedge  which 
made  sure  the  disruption  of  the  Democratic  party.  The 
old  classical  saying,  "Whom  the  gods  wish  to  destroy  they 
first  make  mad,"  was  abundantly  illustrated  in  the  des 
perate  course  of  Buchanan,  Jefferson  Davis  and  their 
Southern  allies  in  the  despotic  policy  by  which  they  sought 
to  establish  the  extreme  doctrine  for  which  Calhoun  had 


1  Stephen  A.  Douglas  was  twice  married.  This  reference  is  doubtless  to  his 
second  wife,  who  was  Miss  Adele  Cutts,  daughter  of  James  Madison  Cutts,  a 
leader  of  Washington  society. 

304 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

contended,  namely,  that  Congress  had  no  power  to  ex 
clude  slavery  from  any  part  of  the  territory  of  the  United 
States,  the  whole  domain  being  under  the  constitution 
open  to  slave-holders,  with  the  right  to  carry  slavery  into 
it  as  a  permanent  institution.  The  ensuing  debate  in 
Congress,  punctuated  by  threats  of  disunion,  secession 
and  armed  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  South,  and  by  a 
flood  of  petitions,  remonstrances  and  patriotic  speeches 
in  both  Houses,  marked  the  progress  of  the  conflict  over 
Kansas. 

After  repeated  contests  in  the  Territory  and  violent 
contentions  in  Congress,  the  genius  of  "Compromise*' 
was,  once  more  and  for  the  last  time,  made  to  subserve  a 
piece  of  legislation  by  Congress  more  insulting  to  the 
people  in  Kansas  than  anything  previously  attempted. 
This  was  a  project  brought  forward  to  end  the  deadlock 
in  a  conference  committee  of  tne  two  Houses  of  Con 
gress  in  the  spring  of  1858.  It  was  called  "The  English 
Bill,"  from  William  H.  English,  of  Indiana,  who  pro 
posed  it.  The  project  was  to  couple  the  submission  of 
the  Lecompton  Constitution  to  the  vote  of  the  people  of 
the  Territory  with  an  offer  of  a  grant  of  public  lands  in 
aid  of  the  State,  in  case  of  the  adoption  of  the  constitu 
tion;  but  should  the  constitution  be  rejected,  the  admis 
sion  of  Kansas,  as  a  State,  was  to  be  postponed  until  the 
population  should  equal  the  ratio  required  for  a  repre 
sentative. 

The  proffer  of  this  bribe  was  expected  by  its  promot 
ers  to  secure  the  adoption  of  the  obnoxious  constitution 

305 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

with  its  provision  protecting  and  perpetuating  slavery. 
Douglas  voted  against  it,  but  it  passed  both  Houses,  was 
signed  by  the  President  and  became  a  law.  But  in  spite 
of  all  the  adverse  and  malign  influences  at  Washington, 
freedom,  during  the  long  contest  protracted  through  a 
period  of  some  five  years,  had  been  steadily  gaining  in 
Kansas;  and  when  the  vote  came  to  be  taken  under  the 
"English  Bill"  in  August  1858,  out  of  13,088  votes  cast, 
11,300  were  against  the  acceptance  of  the  bribe  and  the 
Lecompton  Constitution.  As  the  historian  Rhodes  says, 
in  closing  the  narrative  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  conflict: 
"This  disposed  of  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  and 
effectively  determined  that  slavery  should  not  exist  in 
Kansas.  But  the  question  left  an  irreconcilable  breach 
in  the  Democratic  party  which  was  big  with  consequences 
for  the  Republicans  and  for  the  country.'*  * 

In  the  spring  of  this  year  I  made  a  trip  to  Richmond  in 
company  with  my  father-in-law,  Captain  Marshall,  and 
there  had  my  last  sight  of  slavery  and  the  slave  trade. 
My  poem,  "At  Richmond,"  is  a  faithful  narrative  of  my 
experiences  in  the  city  which  was  soon  to  become  the 
Capital  of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  From  the  hill 
overlooking  the  town,  crowned  by  the  then  recently 
erected  monument  to  Washington,  Thomas  Crawford's 
last  and  most  important  work,  I  came  down  into  the  old 
city  and  to  a  building  which  flaunted  the  red  flag  of  an 
auction  sale  of  slaves.  The  description  of  the  crowd  out 
side  the  door  and  within  the  building  is  true  to  the  life 

1  Rhodes,  "  Hist,  of  the  United  States,"  vol.  II,  p.  301. 

306 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY   YEARS 

as  it  shocked  my  sight  and  sensibilities  and  the  invoca 
tion  in  the  closing  verse  gave  expression  to  the  thought 
inspired  by  this  exhibition  of  the  crime  and  cruelty  of 
slavery. 

This  poem,  published  in  The  Independent  on  my 
return  home,  elicited  the  warm  commendation  of  John 
G.  Whittier,  in  a  letter  which  showed  that  he  was  glad  to 
welcome  me  as  a  co-worker  with  himself  in  the  cause  of 
human  freedom. 

AT   RICHMOND 

At  Richmond,  in  the  month  of  May, 

I  climbed  the  city's  lofty  crest; 
Below,  the  level  landscape  lay, 

And  proudly  streamed,  from  east  to  west, 
The  glories  of  the  dawning  day. 

There  stand  the  statues  Crawford  gave 
His  country,  while  with  bleeding  heart 

She  showered  upon  his  open  grave 
The  laurels  of  victorious  Art, 

And  wept  the  life  she  could  not  save. 

How  grandly,  on  that  granite  base, 

The  youthful  hero  sits  sublime; 
The  leader  of  the  chosen  race, 

The  noblest  of  the  sons  of  Time, 
With  all  his  future  in  his  face. 

And  he  who  framed  the  matchless  plan 
f;-          For  freedom  and  his  fatherland, 
Type  of  the  just,  sagacious  Man, 
Like  Aristides,  calm  and  grand, 
Within  the  Roman  Vatican. 

307 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

Nor  less  he  wears  the  patriot  wreath, 
The  foremost  of  the  three,  who  stands 

As  when  with  his  prophetic  breath, 

And  flashing  eyes,  and  out-stretched  hands, 

He  cried  for  "Liberty  or  Death!" 

Here  surely  it  is  good  to  be, 

Where  Freedom's  native  soil  I  tread, 

And,  on  the  mount,  transfigured  see 
The  Fathers,  with  whose  fame  we  wed 

The  endless  blessings  of  the  free. 

But  when  the  summit's  ample  crown 
Flamed  with  the  morning's  fiercer  heat, 

I  turned,  and  slowly  passing  down, 

With  curious  gaze,  from  street  to  street, 

Went  wandering  through  the  busy  town. 

And  lingered,  where  I  chanced  to  hear 
The  voices  of  a  crowd,  that  hung, 

With  laugh  and  oath  and  empty  jeer, 
Beside  a  door  o'er  which  was  swung 

The  red  flag  of  the  auctioneer. 

In  truth,  it  was  a  motley  crew: 
The  brutal  trader,  sly  and  keen; 

The  planter,  with  his  sunburn  hue; 
The  idle  townsman,  and  between, 

With  face  unwashed,  the  foreign  Jew. 

Within,  O  God  of  grace!   what  sight 

Was  this  for  eyes  which  scarce  had  turned 

From  yonder  monumental  height, 

For  thoughts  upon  whose  altars  burned 

The  fires  just  kindled  in  its  light! 
308 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

So  when  the  rapt  disciples  came 
From  Tabor  on  that  blessed  morn, 

What  chilled  so  soon  their  hearts  of  flame? 
The  fierce  demoniac,  wild  and  torn, 

The  cry  of  human  guilt  and  shame. 

For  here  were  men,  young  men  and  old, 
Scarred  with  hot  iron  and  the  lash; 

And  women,  crushed  with  griefs  untold; 
And  little  children,  cheap  for  cash — 

All  waiting,  waiting — to  be  sold! 

For  me,  each  hourly  good  I  crave 

Comes  at  the  bidding  of  my  will; 
For  them,  the  shadows  of  the  grave 

Have  gathered,  or  the  woes  that  fill 
The  life-long  bondage  of  the  slave. 

Too  long  my  thoughts  were  schooled  to  see 

Some  pretext  for  such  fatal  thrall; 
Now  reason  spurns  each  narrow  plea, 

One  thrill  of  manhood  cancels  all, 
One  throb  of  pity  sets  me  free. 

Virginia!  shall  the  great  and  just, 
Like  sentries,  guard  the  slaver's  den? 

O,  rise,  and  from  your  borders  thrust 
This  thrice-accursed  trade  in  men, 

Or  hurl  your  heroes  to  the  dust! 

On  the  evening  of  July  28,  1858,  on  invitation  of 
the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  of  Yale  College,  I  delivered, 
in  the  Central  Church  of  New  Haven,  before  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  and  cultivated  audiences  I  have  ever  ad- 

309 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

dressed,  my  poem  of  '"Two  Millions."  Judge  Joseph 
Story,  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  had  accepted 
an  invitation  to  deliver  an  address  on  the  same  evening, 
but  some  time  before  the  date  of  the  anniversary  of  the 
society  he  cancelled  his  engagement,  and  the  committee 
in  charge  offered  me  the  whole  evening.  I  availed  of  this 
offer  and  my  poem  occupied  the  entire  time  devoted  to 
the  occasion.  During  its  delivery  I  had  a  strange,  and 
to  me  an  amusing,  experience.  I  suddenly  lost  the  hear 
ing  of  my  own  voice  and,  finding  that  I  did  not  regain  it, 
paused  to  inquire  of  a  gentleman  near  me  on  the  plat 
form  whether  there  was  any  perceptible  change  in  it,  and 
on  being  assured  by  him  that  there  was  not,  I  went  on, 
without  reference  to  my  own  inability  to  hear  what  I  was 
reciting  to  the  audience.  The  poem  was  well  received, 
and  as  the  Appletons  had  printed  it  in  book-form  and 
published  it  in  New  Haven  and  New  York  the  day  after 
its  delivery,  it  immediately  attained  a  large  sale  and  was 
decidedly  successful.  I  included  "Two  Millions"  in  the 
volume  of  my  poems  published  by  James  R.  Osgood 
&  Co.,  in  1871,  but  omitted  it  from  the  edition  of  1900 
on  account  of  its  length,  which  would  have  swelled  the 
volume  unduly.  The  story  which  it  told  was  that  of  a 
miserly  millionaire  who  was  found  one  morning  appar 
ently  lifeless,  with  his  will  in  his  hands,  rent  in  twain 
either  by  his  violent  act  or  by  the  convulsive  spasms  fol 
lowing  the  stroke  which  rendered  him  unconscious. 
This  raised  a  question  over  which  his  next  of  kin  engaged 
in  a  fierce  conflict,  which  was  suddenly  terminated  by 

310 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

the  unexpected  restoration  of  the  supposed  decedent  and 
his  rescue,  by  his  formerly  neglected  adopted  daughter, 
from  his  selfish  and  sordid  life.  No  one  in  particular  sat 
for  the  portrait  of  "Firkin,"  the  chief  figure  in  the  poem. 
The  Evening  Post  of  July  30,  1858,  was  quite  correct  in 
its  conclusion  on  this  subject,  as  stated  in  the  following 
paragraph: 

"Everyone  is  inquiring  who  old  Firkin  is,  in  Mr.  But 
ler's  poem  of  'Two  Millions,'  and  several  have  suggested 
the  name  of  a  deceased  millionaire,  whose  will  has  been 
and  still  is  the  subject  of  a  somewhat  notorious  and 
painful  litigation.  This  conjecture  rests,  we  presume, 
mainly,  if  not  entirely,  upon  the  catastrophe  of  the  story, 
for  Firkin  is  evidently  a  type,  not  an  individual.  Like 
Gradgrind,  he  embodies  the  weaknesses  and  the  hard 
nesses  of  a  class,  all  of  which  were  never  seen  in  any  one 
person.  It  is  idle,  therefore,  to  endeavor  to  aim  this 
satire  at  any  person  or  family.  It  was  prepared,  we 
doubt  not,  with  a  wider  and  nobler  purpose  than  could 
be  answered  by  painting  the  portrait  of  any  single  in 
dividual." 

[My  father's  exquisite  tribute  to  woman  at  the  close 
of  the  poem  is  quoted  here. — ED.] 


"Nor  waits  alone.     Such  have  there  ever  been, 
Since  human  grief  has  followed  human  sin, 
The  patient,  perfect  women!     As  they  climb, 
With  bleeding  feet,  the  flinty  crags  of  time, 
Not  for  the  praise  of  man,  or  earth's  renown, 
They  bear  the  cross  and  wear  the  martyr's  crown. 

3" 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

Though  queenly  medal,  stamped  with  royal  heads, 

Their  humble  toil  to  endless  honor  weds; 

Though,  like  a  bow  of  hope,  their  fame  is  bent, 

From  side  to  side  of  each  broad  continent; 

And  pictured  volume,  with  its  tinted  page, 

Bears  their  meek  features  to  the  coming  age; 

A  higher  joy  their  gentle  spirits  reap, 

Where,  all  unknown,  their  silent  watch  they  keep, 

Far  from  the  echo  of  the  world's  applause, 

Through  sultry  noon,  or  midnight's  dreary  pause, 

By  sorrow's  waking  groan  or  fitful  sleep, 

Where  helpless  infants  gasp  their  parting  breath, 

Cradled  in  suffering  and  baptized  with  death; 

Or  strong  men,  tossing,  with  delirious  lips, 

In  fever-tempests  and  the  mind's  eclipse, 

Plunge  through  the  starless  storm,  like  foundering  ships; 

Or  old  age,  shrinking  from  the  tyrant's  clutch, 

Feels,  through  the  darkness,  for  their  tender  touch. 

Watching  and  waiting,  till  the  rising  morn 

Shall  greet  their  saintly  faces,  pale  and  worn 

With  the  long  vigil,  as  they  steal  away, 

Through  darkened  chambers,  at  the  dawn  of  day, 

Unloose  the  casement  to  the  early  air, 

Hail  its  pure  radiance  with  their  purer  prayer; 

Drink  in  fresh  courage  with  its  quickening  breath; 

Then  shut  the  sunlight  from  the  bed  of  death, 

But  bear,  serenely,  to  the  sufferer's  side 

A  brighter  beauty  than  the  morning-tide, 

No  eye  beholding  save  their  risen  Lord's, 

Who  sees  in  secret  but  in  sight  rewards! 

Their  fairest  earthly  crown,  the  wreath  that  twines, 

Not  round  loud  platforms,  or  proud  senate  domes, 

But  those  pure  altars,  those  perpetual  shrines, 

Which  grace  and  gladden  all  our  Saxon  Homes!" 


312 


CHAPTER  XX 

BENJAMIN  F.  BUTLER — HIS  LAST  LEGAL  CASES — TRIP  TO  EUROPE — 
HIS  ILLNESS — DEATH  AND  FUNERAL — RESOLUTIONS — WILLIAM  CURTIS 
NOYES — EVERT  A.  DUYCKINCK — SAMUEL  TILDEN — HIS  WILL — 
ASTOR-LENOX-TILDEN  FOUNDATION. 

THE  chief  and  saddest  event  of  1858  in  our  family 
circle  was  the  death  of  my  father.  He  died  on 
the  8th  of  November,  at  the  Hotel  du  Louvre,  at  Paris, 
aged  62  years,  10  months  and  15  days.  The  death  of  my 
mother  was  a  great  blow  from  which  my  father  never  fully 
rallied.  He  withdrew  from  the  general  practice  of  his 
profession  to  devote  himself  almost  exclusively  to  a  group 
of  cases  constituting  a  most  important,  and,  in  some  re 
spects,  unprecedented  litigation.  These  were  known  as 
"The  North  American  Trust  and  Banking  Company" 
cases.  That  company,  a  New  York  corporation,  bor 
rowed  $1,500,000  of  Palmer,  McKellop,  Dent&  Co.,  and 
of  other  English  creditors,  and  issued  its  bonds  and  other 
securities  for  the  debt.  The  company  failed  and  went 
into  the  hands  of  a  receiver,  a  very  able  and  shrewd  Wall 
Street  financier,  who,  with  the  aid  of  an  equally  able  and 
shrewd  lawyer,  formed  a  scheme  in  the  interest  of  the 
stockholders  of  the  bankrupt  company  to  defeat  the 
claims  of  the  English  creditors  and  destroy  their  debts. 

313 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

All  sorts  of  technical  defenses  were  raised,  such  as 
usury,  want  of  power  in  the  corporation  to  make  the 
bonds,  and  other  informalities  and  violations  of  law.  The 
effect  of  these  defenses,  if  successful,  would  have  been 
to  free  the  assets  of  the  company  in  the  hands  of  the 
receiver  from  any  liability  to  the  English  creditors  and 
leave  them  for  distribution  among  the  stockholders,  whose 
stock  was  worthless  unless  this  repudiation  could  be  ac 
complished.  Mr.  J.  Horsley  Palmer,  was,  at  that  time,  a 
leading  official  of  the  Bank  of  England,  which  was  in 
terested  in  the  claims.  If  I  recollect  right  a  Mr.  Fresh- 
field  was  solicitor  for  the  bank  of  Palmer,  McKellop, 
Dent  &  Co.  Mr.  Roundell  Palmer,  afterward  Lord 
Selborne,  was  the  principal  counsel.  A  shrewd  Scotch 
man  named  MacFarlan  was  sent  to  New  York  by  the 
English  creditors  as  a  watch-dog  over  their  interests,  to 
which  he  was  persistently  devoted. 

The  plan  of  the  conspirators  to  defeat  the  debt  em 
braced  the  bringing  of  suits  on  comparatively  small  claims 
against  the  bankrupt  company  on  obligations  similar  to 
those  held  by  the  English  creditors,  or  nearly  so,  and 
getting  decisions  declaring  them  void.  Another  part  of 
the  plan  was  the  retaining,  as  counsel,  of  judges  as  they 
retired  from  the  bench,  and  the  creating  of  a  legal  and 
judicial  atmosphere  fatal  to  the  claims  of  the  English 
creditors.  My  father  had  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  fight, 
although  Charles  King,  William  Kent,  Charles  O'Conor, 
William  Curtis  Noyes,  and  others  were  associated  with 
him.  When  the  cases  reached  the  Court  of  Appeals  the 

3H 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

Court  gave  the  entire  term  to  the  hearing  of  the  argu 
ments.  This  was  justified  on  the  ground  that  ordinarily 
in  a  term  they  heard  about  one  hundred  cases  involving  on 
an  average  $10,000  each.  As  these  cases  involved  $1,500,- 
ooo  and  also  very  important  questions,  and  as  there  was 
a  wonderful  array  of  talent  on  both  sides,  a  month  was 
not  thought  too  much  time  for  the  hearing.1  The  Eng 
lish  creditors  succeeded  at  all  points;  the  former  decisions 
on  which  the  receiver's  counsel  relied  were  held  not  to  ap 
ply;  and  the  attempt  to  repudiate  the  debts  wholly  failed. 
Since  that  time,  now  over  forty  years  ago,  we  have  become 
so  accustomed  to  large  figures  and  cases  involving  many 
millions  that  the  North  American  Trust  and  Banking 
Company  litigation  seems  almost  insignificant  in  amount; 
but  at  that  time  it  was  of  the  utmost  consequence  and  of 
vital  importance  to  the  English  creditors. 

In  1856  my  father  had  made  a  short  visit  to  England 
in  company  with  my  old  friend  and  companion  in  travel, 
George  L.  Duyckinck,  and  had  greatly  enjoyed  the  hos 
pitality  extended  to  him  by  Lord  Brougham,  for  whom 
he  had  a  high  admiration.  My  father  kept  up  his  interest 
in  public  affairs,  and  never  abated  his  zeal  in  advocating 
the  principles  of  the  Free  Soil  party,  of  which  he  had  been 
one  of  the  most  conspicuous  founders.  In  common  with 
all  those  who  had  united  in  its  formation,  but  who  had 
supported  Pierce  in  1852,  in  the  mistaken  confidence  that 
the  "Compromise  Measures"  of  1850  had  healed  the 

1  The  report  of  these   cases  is  in  Volume   15,  New  York  Reports,  where 
it  occupies  nearly  300  pages. 

315 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

wounds  which  slavery  agitation  had  caused,  he  greatly 
deplored  the  defection  of  the  President  and  his  breach  of 
plighted  faith  to  the  country.  He  joined  heartily  with 
liberty-loving  men  of  all  parties  in  denouncing  the  Kan 
sas-Nebraska  bill  for  the  outrages  which  it  promoted, 
joined  the  Republican  party  upon  its  formation,  and  ad 
vocated  the  election  of  Fremont  and  Dayton. 

I  think  his  last  public  appearance  was  at  a  meeting  of 
citizens  held  in  City  Hall  Park,  May  13,  1854,  to  denounce 
the  crime  against  Kansas.  At  this  meeting  he  startled 
some  of  his  old  associates  by  declaring,  as  the  most  con 
vincing  proof  of  his  hostility  to  the  attempted  introduc 
tion  of  slavery  into  free  territory,  that  if  he  were  called 
upon  to  choose  between  Douglas  and  Seward,  as  rival 
nominees  for  the  presidency,  he  would  cast  his  vote  for 
Seward.  Many  of  the  Democrats  who  had  been  Free 
Soilers  in  1848  had  returned  to  the  party  fold  in  1852  and 
voted  for  Buchanan,  but  my  father  cut  loose  from  them 
and  severed  himself  once  for  all  from  the  party  with 
which  he  had  been  so  long  identified  and  to  which  he  had 
given  such  faithful  service.  He  did  not  live  to  see  the 
triumph  of  Republican  principles  or  the  catastrophe  and 
results  of  the  Rebellion.  Perhaps,  in  the  language  of 
Holy  Writ,  he  was  mercifully  "taken  away  from  the  evil 
to  come/' 

One  important  case  which  engaged  and  for  a  time 
engrossed  my  father's  professional  energies,  he  under 
took  largely  out  of  regard  to  the  memory  of  my  uncle 
William  Howard  Allen,  and  in  behalf  of  one  of  my 

316 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

uncle's  companions  in  arms — Captain  Uriah  P.  Levy. 
Levy  was  an  able  and  gallant  officer,  but  he  was  under 
the  ban  which  race  prejudice,  then  strongly  prevalent 
in  the  navy,  made  an  effective  obstacle  to  an  equality 
in  social  standing  with  his  fellow-officers.  Wherever  he 
served  he  became  the  object  of  petty  spite,  malicious  ac 
cusations  and  persistent  ostracism.  Complaints  were 
made  against  him,  he  was  court-martialed  and  tried,  time 
after  time,  and  almost  invariably  convicted,  suspended 
from  duty,  and  otherwise  made  to  bear  penalties  meted 
out  with  a  severe  hand  for  comparatively  trivial  offenses. 
Finally  he  was  dismissed  from  the  navy. 

Levy  believing  himself  to  be  the  victim  of  a  great 
wrong,  brought  his  case  to  my  father  and  besought  his 
aid.  The  cause  was  a  desperate  one,  and  the  client  was 
a  man  who  had  been  unable  to  escape  from  complaints 
which,  perhaps,  although  originating  in  prejudice,  had 
made  him  generally  unpopular.  My  father,  after  full  in 
vestigation  of  the  facts  and  the  law,  made  up  his  mind  that 
Levy  had  been  unjustly  dealt  with,  and  was  entitled  to  be 
reinstated  in  the  navy  and  compensated  for  the  illegal 
and  cruel  treatment  he  had  received.  Accordingly  he 
advised  an  application  for  a  court  of  inquiry,  which  he 
succeeded  in  obtaining,  and,  after  a  long  trial  in  which 
Levy's  whole  career  and  the  catalogue  of  the  supposed 
crimes  he  had  committed  were  made  the  subject  of  pa 
tient  and  thorough  investigation,  he  was  triumphantly 
vindicated.  On  the  basis  of  the  findings  of  the  court, 
and  after  an  exhaustive  argument  in  his  favor  by  my 

317 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

father,  an  Act  of  Congress  was  passed  restoring  Captain 
Levy  to  his  rank  in  the  navy,  with  an  award  of  back  pay 
for  all  the  years  of  his  disgrace.  This  was  one  of  the 
most  notable  achievements,  as  it  was  the  last,  of  my  fa 
ther's  professional  career,  and  finely  illustrated  his  gen 
erous  impulses  and  his  strong  sense  of  justice. 

In  the  summer  of  1858  my  father  made  his  plans  for 
an  extended  tour  in  Europe  with  my  then  two  unmarried 
sisters,  Eliza1  and  Lydia,2  and  sailed  from  New  York 
October  16,  on  the  steamer  Arago,  Captain  Lyons.  My  last 
sight  of  him  was  as  he  stood  in  the  stern  of  the  vessel 
waving  his  adieus.  The  thought  that  I  might  never  see 
him  again  in  this  world  hardly  occurred  to  me,  as  I  sup 
posed  him  to  be  going  in  quest  of  recreation  and  rest  under 
the  most  favorable  conditions.  A  letter  dated  at  Rouen, 
November  ist,  written  in  good  spirits,  was  the  last  I  ever 
received  from  him.  Besides  my  sisters  he  had,  in  this 
last  illness  in  a  strange  land,  the  companionship  of  two 
most  faithful  friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frederick  Brown  of 
Philadelphia,  who  were  fellow-voyagers  with  him  on  the 
Arago  and  were  alarmed  at  his  condition  before  he  reached 
Paris.  He  had  been  suffering  for  a  long  time  from  a 
fatal  malady,  the  nature  of  which  was  not  then  under 
stood  by  the  medical  faculty  as  it  is  now,  when  the 
name  of  "Bright's  Disease"  has  unhappily  become  too 
familiar  to  us.  My  father's  last  hours  were  painless  and 
serene.  Although  fully  conscious  that  he  was  to  die  far 
away  from  home  and  in  a  foreign  land,  his  soul  was  not 

1  Mrs.  Thomas  S.  Kirkbride.  2  Mrs.  Alfred  Booth. 

318 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

disquieted  within  him,  and  he  accepted  the  inevitable 
with  composure  and  a  cheerful  Christian  acquiesence. 

The  steamer  Arago,  on  which  my  father  sailed  from 
home,  brought  back  his  mortal  remains.  Before  she  left, 
a  meeting  of  Americans  in  Paris  was  held  November  12, 
1858,  at  the  banking  house  of  John  Monroe  &  Co.,  to 
pay  a  tribute  to  his  memory.  John  Y.  Mason,  of  Virginia, 
then  American  minister  to  France,  presided  and  ex-Gov 
ernor  Hamilton  Fish,  of  New  York,  offered  resolutions 
commemorative  of  my  father's  public  services  and  pri 
vate  character  and  of  affectionate  sympathy  with  his 
family.  A  copy  of  these  was  sent  to  me  by  Mr.  Mason, 
enclosed  in  a  letter  expressing  his  personal  feelings. 

Shortly  after  the  arrival  of  the  Arago  the  funeral  ser 
vices  were  held  in  the  Mercer  Street  Church,  December  2, 
1858.  A  large  audience  gathered  to  pay  the  last  tribute 
of  respect  to  his  memory.  Addresses  were  made  by  Rev. 
Dr.  Thomas  Skinner,  Rev.  Dr.  William  B.  Sprague,  Rev. 
Dr.  William  Adams,  and  Rev.  Dr.  George  W.  Bethune. 
The  day  before  the  funeral  a  meeting  of  the  bar  of  New 
York  had  been  held  in  the  United  States  District  Court 
room,  which  was  very  largely  attended  by  members  of 
the  bench  and  bar  as  well  as  by  many  persons  outside  of 
the  profession.  Judge  Samuel  Nelson,  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  presided,  and  addresses  were 
made  by  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  William  Kent,  Marshall  S. 
Bidwell,  John  W.  Edmonds  and  Daniel  Lord.  The  reso 
lutions  passed  at  this  meeting,  which  I  understand  were 
drawn  by  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  were  not  cast  in  the  con- 

319 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

ventional  mould,  too  often  in  use  on  such  occasions,  but 
were  especially  noteworthy  in  bringing  into  prominence 
the  trait  of  unselfish  and  generous  treatment  by  my 
father  of  the  younger  members  of  the  profession  associ 
ated  with  him.  The  main  resolutions  were  as  follows: 


"Resolved,  that  in  the  death  of  Benjamin  F.  Butler 
the  legal  profession  and  the  public  at  large  are  called  to 
mourn  the  loss  of  a  Jurist,  who  was  illustrious  by  his 
abilities  and  learning  and  by  an  active  career,  as  Advo 
cate  and  counsel  of  more  than  forty  years  duration,  em 
bracing  eminent  services  as  Attorney-General  of  the 
United  States  and  in  many  other  important  civil  trusts; 
and  who  in  the  results  of  his  labors,  jointly  with  John 
C.  Spencer  and  John  Duer,  in  the  revision  and  codifica 
tion  of  the  Statutory  Laws  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
has  left  an  imperishable  monument  of  his  attainments 
as  a  lawyer  and  his  capacities  as  a  legislator. 

"  Resolved,  that  while  we  thus  express  our  sense  of  the 
abilities  and  achievements,  as  a  jurist,  of  our  departed 
brother,  a  just  appreciation  of  his  character  and  services 
prompts  us  to  a  special  commemoration  of  the  scrupulous 
care  with  which  he  ever  sought  to  guard  and  promote  the 
dignity  and  usefulness  of  our  profession,  and  to  make  it 
the  means  of  purifying  and  strengthening  the  adminis 
tration  of  Justice;  his  devotion  to  it  as  a  liberal  and  scien 
tific  pursuit;  his  efforts  to  improve  the  legislation  and 
jurisprudence  of  this  State;  the  equity  and  affectionate 
courtesy  which  pervaded  his  intercourse  with  his  brethren 
during  the  long  period  of  his  active  practice  at  the  Bar; 
the  generous  freedom  with  which  he  ever  opened  to  an 
associate  the  use  of  his  ample  stores  of  learning  and 
thought,  which  he  had  laboriously  prepared,  even  though 
that  associate  was  to  precede  him  in  the  argument;  his 
taste  for  liberal  studies  cultivated  amid  the  severest  pres 
sure  of  business;  and,  above  all,  his  Christian  virtues, 

320 


•    .,-  . 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

whose  charities,  without  losing  their  energy,  embraced  all 
religious  denominations  and  all  classes  of  men,  whose 
graces  adorned  his  daily  life,  and  cast  a  beautiful  lustre 
over  its  closing  hours." 

All  the  addresses  made  at  Paris  and  New  York  are 
collected  in  the  memorial  printed  for  the  family  of  my 
father  by  D.  Appleton  &  Co.  In  my  own  copy  of  this 
memorial  I  have  inserted  some  of  the  original  letters  and 
papers,  and  proceedings  of  various  bodies,  relating  to  his 
death. 

The  men  I  have  referred  to  as  associated  with  my 
father  in  the  North  American  Trust  Company  cases  were 
all  eminent  in  the  profession. 

Mr.  William  Curtis  Noyes  was  one  of  the  ablest  and 
most  esteemed  members  of  our  Metropolitan  Bar.  He 
came  from  Oneida  County  to  New  York,  thoroughly 
equipped  for  professional  service  of  the  highest  grade  and 
was  soon  in  the  front  rank  of  the  profession  and  always  on 
the  fighting  line  for  the  full  enforcement  of  legal  rights. 
This  was  his  favorite  method  of  action.  A  severe  malady 
which  attacked  his  eyes  impaired  his  pursuit  of  pro 
fessional  studies  and  activities,  but  he  resolutely  perse 
vered  until  restored  eyesight  came  with  splendid  oppor 
tunities  for  the  exercise  of  his  rare  ability.  Mr.  Noyes 
lived  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Fifth  Avenue  and  Thir 
tieth  Street.  In  the  rear  of  his  house  he  erected  a  build 
ing  exclusively  for  his  library,  which  occupied  the  whole 
interior  of  the  structure  above  the  basement.  It  was  a 

321 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

large  and  lofty  room,  two  stories  in  height,  the  galleries 
on  the  upper  part  being  reached  by  a  central  spiral  stair 
case  as  well  as  from  the  second  story  of  the  main  house. 
He  was  much  sought  after  as  an  advising  counsel  in  the 
most  important  litigations  of  the  day  and  was  capable  of 
accomplishing  an  extraordinary  amount  of  professional 
work.  I  can  recall  no  lawyer  who  was  more  thoroughly 
serviceable  to  the  profession  and  to  the  courts.  He  con 
fined  himself  exclusively  to  his  profession,  was  always 
alert  and  untiring  in  the  interests  of  his  client,  and  was 
universally  esteemed  for  his  high  personal  character. 
But  like  so  many  of  our  profession  he  went  on  respond 
ing  to  every  call  and  undertaking,  every  new  task,  until 
his  overtaxed  energies  gave  way  on  a  sudden,  and  he 
died  when  in  his  sixtieth  year.  His  house  passed  into 
other  hands,  but  his  noble  law  library  is  preserved  at 
Hamilton  College,  to  which  be  bequeathed  it  by  his  will. 
New  York  has  long  been  rich  in  private  libraries  as  well 
as  in  collections  of  works  of  art,  but  I  have  seen  many  of 
these  brought  under  the  auctioneer's  hammer,  their  con 
tents  dispersed  and  no  memorial  left  of  the  labor  and 
care  expended  in  their  creation.  In  more  recent  years, 
I  think  there  has  been  a  growing  disposition  on  the  part 
of  collectors  to  place  their  collections  in  public  institu 
tions  devoted  to  literature  or  art.  Among  the  valuable 
private  libraries  of  the  city  was  that  of  the  brothers  Duyck- 
inck,  Evert  A.  and  George  L.  It  was  particularly  rich 
in  English  drama.  The  house  where  they  lived,  No.  20 
Clinton  Place,  was  full  of  books  from  the  basement  up- 

322 


A  RETROSPECT   OF   FORTY  YEARS 

ward,  and  created  the  genial  atmosphere  in  which  they 
pursued  their  literary  studies  and  labors  and  entertained 
their  circle  of  friends. 

Before  my  marriage,  and  while  the  Duyckincks  were 
publishing  and  editing  The  Literary  World,  to  which  I 
was  a  constant  contributor,  I  spent  many  a  pleasant  hour 
in  their  quiet  and  delightful  home.  In  the  memorial 
sketch  of  the  elder  Duyckinck  which  I  read  before  the 
New  York  Historical  Society,  January  7,  1879,  an<^  m  tne 
brief  memoir  of  the  younger  brother,  prepared  by  me  at 
the  request  of  the  New  England  Historical  and  Genealog 
ical  Society  and  published  in  the  volume  issued  by  it,  I 
endeavored  to  do  justice  to  the  high  character,  love  of 
letters  and  literary  abilities  of  both  these  fraternal  co- 
laborers.  The  younger  brother,  who  never  married, 
died  March  30,  1863.  Evert,  the  elder  of  the  two,  had 
the  misfortune  to  lose  his  children,  and  at  his  death, 
August  13,  1878,  was  survived  only  by  his  wife.  By  his 
will  he  gave  the  library,  of  which  he  was  at  the  time  of  his 
death  the  sole  possessor,  to  the  Lenox  Library,  and  Mrs. 
Duyckinck,  following  out  her  husband's  wishes,  gave  his 
entire  estate  to  the  same  institution,  subject  to  the  pay 
ment  of  the  income  to  certain  beneficiaries  during  life. 
George  H.  Moore,  who  was  the  librarian  of  the  Lenox 
Library  and  with  myself  one  of  the  executors  of  Mrs. 
Duyckinck's  will,  is  my  authority  for  saying  that  this  is 
the  only  instance  in  the  annals  of  literature  of  a  man  of 
letters  giving  his  whole  fortune  to  a  public  literary  insti 
tution.  The  estate,  as  it  will  finally  come  into  the  posses- 

323 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

sion  of  the  New  York  Public  Library,  Astor,  Tilden,  and 
Lenox  Foundations,  will  represent,  exclusive  of  the  books 
already  in  their  ownership,  a  value  of  over  $150,000. 

This  reference  to  the  New  York  Library  leads  me  to 
mention  the  remarkable  results  already  attained  by  the 
consolidation  of  the  Astor  and  Lenox  Foundations  with 
that  of  Governor  Tilden,  who,  by  his  will,  made  a  munifi 
cent  provision  for  a  free  public  library  in  the  City  of 
New  York.  Although  his  intention  was,  to  a  large  de 
gree,  frustrated  by  the  decision  of  the  Court  of  Appeals 
invalidating  the  bequest,  a  large  part  of  it  was  secured 
by  the  trustees  as  the  result  of  a  compromise  with  one 
of  the  principal  heirs,  and  this  sum,  amounting  to  about 
$2,000,000,  together  with  his  valuable  collection  of  books, 
became  the  property  of  the  Public  Library. 

It  has  often  been  asked  why  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  who 
was  himself  an  eminent  lawyer,  should  have  left  a  will 
which,  as  to  its  main  purposes,  was  adjudged  by  the 
court  of  last  resort  to  be  invalid  and  void.  This  very 
natural  query  I  am  able  to  answer  from  the  information 
given  me  by  one  of  his  closest  friends,  an  executor  named 
in  the  will.  Governor  Tilden,  though  learned  and  skilled 
in  the  law  of  contracts  and  corporations,  had  no  special 
experience  or  practice  in  reference  to  the  law  of  wills  and 
the  statutes  and  decisions  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  as  to 
testamentary  dispositions  of  property.  He  drew  his  will 
and  submitted  it  to  the  scrutiny  of  the  friend  to  whom  I 
have  referred,  who,  although  a  lawyer  by  profession,  had 
been  for  many  years  retired  from  active  practice,  and  who 

324 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

advised  him  that  in  a  matter  of  so  great  importance  he 
ought  to  have  the  aid  of  the  best  legal  talent  he  could 
procure.  Whereupon  Governor  Tilden  said  that  when 
Mr.  O'Conor  came  to  town  from  Nantucket,  where  he 
had  taken  up  his  permanent  abode,  he  would  ask  his 
opinion.  Mr.  O'Conor  came  to  New  York,  and  the  will 
was  placed  in  his  hands.  He  expressed  a  wish  to  examine 
the  latest  authorities  bearing  on  the  subject,  but,  without 
apparently  having  been  able  to  do  so,  left  the  city  and  re 
turned  the  will  to  Governor  Tilden,  advising  that  he  con 
sult  a  lawyer  of  the  highest  repute  whom  he  named. 
This  suggestion  Governor  Tilden  accepted  and  the  will 
went  into  the  hands  of  the  counsel  designated  by  Mr. 
O'Conor.  He,  in  turn,  sent  it  back  to  its  author  with  a 
statement  that  it  required  revision,  and  proposing  a  con 
sultation  with  Governor  Tilden  for  that  purpose. 

It  was  a  habit  of  Governor  Tilden,  well  known  to  his 
friends  and  to  his  professional  and  political  associates,  to 
put  off  matters  on  which  he  was  not  absolutely  compelled 
to  act  with  promptness.  The  conference  called  for  by 
the  counsel  whom  he  had  consulted  was  postponed  until, 
as  so  often  happens,  death  came,  and  it  was  impossible. 
The  will  as  it  had  been  drawn  and  executed  was  never 
altered  so  as  to  make  it  effectual  as  intended  by  the  testa 
tor.  Happily  that  which  was  saved  out  of  Governor 
Tilden's  estate  perpetuates  his  name  with  those  of  Astor 
and  Lenox  as  a  public  benefactor,  and  the  remarkable 
unanimity  with  which  both  the  legislature  and  the  city 
authorities  have  provided  the  means  of  creating  a  great 

325 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

public  library  is  one  of  the  most  marked  and  memorable 
instances  of  public  spirit  and  wise  beneficence  in  our 
annals. 

As  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Lenox  Library  and  later 
of  the  New  York  Public  Library,  I  have  been  greatly  in 
terested  in  the  successive  steps  by  which  every  obstacle 
has  been  cleared  away,  first  in  the  task  of  consolidation 
and  then  in  the  procurement  of  State  and  municipal  co 
operation.  Only  those  acquainted  with  the  details  of  the 
work  and  with  the  care  and  skill  of  those  concerned  in 
promoting  it  and  in  securing  the  beneficial  result  which 
has  been  accomplished,  can  form  any  idea  of  the  value  of 
their  patient  and  persevering  efforts. 


326 


CHAPTER  XXI 

DRED  SCOTT  CASE — DOUGLAS  AND  LINCOLN   RIVAL  CANDIDATES  FOR  SENA 
TOR — JOHN  BROWN'S  RAID — LINCOLN  IN  NEW  YORK — COOPER  UNION 

SPEECH — VISIT  TO  FIVE  POINTS  SCHOOL  OF  INDUSTRY — NOMINATIONS 
AT  CHICAGO  CONVENTION— GOVERNOR  SEWARD — PRESIDENTIAL  CAM 
PAIGN  OF  i860. 

IN  the  winter  and  spring  of  1859,  tne  administration  of 
President  Buchanan  was  dragging  its  slow  length 
along,  chiefly  noteworthy  by  its  abject  submission  to  the 
dictates  of  the  slave  power  in  the  continued  contest  over 
Kansas.  The  hands  of  the  Southern  oligarchy  had  been 
greatly  strengthened  by  a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  in  what  has  passed  into  history  as 
the  "Dred  Scott  Case/' 

Dred  Scott,  originally  a  slave,  had  been  taken  with 
his  family  by  his  master  from  the  South  into  one  of  the 
free  States  of  the  West,  and,  taking  advantage  of  the 
laws  of  that  State,  claimed  that,  having  become  free  by  its 
laws,  he  could  not  be  returned  in  slavery  to  the  State  of 
Missouri  where  he  was  afterwards  taken.  He  brought 
suit  to  establish  the  rights  of  himself  and  family  as  free 
citizens.  He  had  one  decision  in  his  favor;  but  this  was 
reversed  on  appeal,  and  his  case  was  then  carried  by 
writ  of  error  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
at  Washington.  The  main  question  was  whether  Dred 

327 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

Scott  was  in  any  sense  a  citizen,  so  as  to  have  the  right 
to  come  into  court  and  maintain  his  cause.  It  would 
have  been  easy  for  the  majority  of  the  court  to  have  dis 
missed  his  appeal  for  want  of  jurisdiction  on  the  ground 
of  his  non-citizenship,  but  Chief  Justice  Taney,  a  South 
ern  Democrat,  holding  extreme  views  in  favor  of  slavery, 
in  an  evil  hour  for  his  own  repute,  thought  it  a  favorable 
opportunity  to  construe  the  Constitution  and  give  effect 
to  its  provisions  in  such  manner  as  to  uphold  the  most 
aggressive  views  of  the  slave-holders. 

His  opinion  went  minutely  into  the  history  of  African 
slavery  as  it  existed  in  this  country  and  as  it  had  been 
maintained  by  law.  While  he  denied  the  rights  claimed 
by  Dred  Scott  in  particular,  in  his  denial  he  embraced 
every  member  of  that  unfortunate  race,  by  his  declaration 
that  in  the  opinion  "which  prevailed  in  civilized  and  en 
lightened  portions  of  the  world  at  the  time  of  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence"  and  "for  more  than  a  century 
before/'  the  members  of  this  race  "had  no  rights  which 
the  white  man  was  bound  to  respect."1  This  last  oft- 
quoted  phrase  is  about  all  that  remains  in  the  minds  of 
men  of  the  "Dred  Scott  Case,"  but  the  whole  of  Justice 
Taney's  opinion  was  hailed  by  the  South  as  incontrovert- 
ibly  upholding  all  that  they  claimed  in  respect  to  their 
right  to  take  their  slave  property  wherever  they  chose  into 
the  new  Territories.  Other  judges  of  the  court  wrote 
opinions  denying  the  right  claimed  by  Dred  Scott.  Judge 
Benjamin  R.  Curtis,  of  Massachusetts,  one  of  the  ablest 

1  Dred  Scott  v.  Sandford,  19  Howard  393,  Taney,  J.,  p.  407. 

328 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

of  their  number,  dissented  in  toto  from  the  Chief  Justice, 
in  an  able  and  masterly  opinion  which  placed  him  in  the 
front  rank  of  jurists.  Chief  Justice  Taney  was  one  of 
the  ablest  of  our  judges  and  in  his  long  career  at  the 
head  of  the  Federal  judiciary  was  conspicuous  for  learn 
ing  and  judicial  ability;  but  he  forfeited  the  confidence 
and  respect  of  a  very  large  portion  of  his  countrymen 
by  the  utterance  which  I  have  quoted,  and  the  kindred 
expressions  which  found  place  in  his  opinion.  The  de 
cision  was  rendered  on  March  6,  1857,  immediately  after 
the  inauguration  of  Buchanan,  and  from  that  time  it 
was  a  sheet-anchor  for  the  ship  of  state  while  under 
Buchanan's  command,  against  all  the  efforts  and  assaults 
of  his  anti-slavery  opponents. 

In  the  summer  of  1858  Douglas,  whose  pronounced 
opposition  to  the  administration  in  its  policy  of  forcing 
a  pro-slavery  constitution  upon  Kansas  put  in  jeopardy 
his  re-election  as  United  States  senator  from  Illinois,  took 
the  stump  in  that  State  to  advocate  his  own  cause. 
Abraham  Lincoln  came  forward  as  a  rival  candidate  on 
the  Republican  platform;  and  the  two  aspirants  entered 
into  the  most  memorable  debate  in  the  annals  of  our 
political  history.  They  went  from  place  to  place  in  Illi 
nois,  addressing  the  people  and  asserting  the  doctrine  of 
their  respective  parties.  It  was  on  the  eve  of  this  series 
of  debates  that  Lincoln,  in  a  speech  at  Springfield  accept 
ing  the  nomination  for  senator,  uttered,  against  the  ad 
vice  of  his  friends,  the  sentence  which  at  once  became 
famous:  "A  house  divided  against  itself  can  not  stand. 

329 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

I  believe  this  government  can  not  endure  half-slave  and 
half-free."  This  caused  a  great  outcry  against  Lincoln, 
and,  throughout  the  ensuing  debate,  was  the  keynote  of 
the  harangues  of  Douglas  against  what  he  persisted  in 
branding  as  the  unconstitutional  and  abolitionary  doc 
trines  of  his  opponent.  But  Lincoln  bravely  adhered  to 
his  text  and  laid  before  the  people  of  the  North  a  clear 
and  statesman-like  declaration  of  the  principle  that  while 
slavery  was  a  sectional  and  local  institution,  freedom  was 
truly  national  and  should  control.  Although  Lincoln  had 
been  a  representative  in  Congress  from  Illinois,  he  really 
first  came  into  full  view  during  the  progress  of  his  debates 
with  Douglas.  While  he  failed  in  his  campaign  and  his 
rival  was  elected  to  the  Senate,  Lincoln  took  his  place 
then  as  one  of  the  foremost  and  strongest  of  the  leaders 
of  the  Republican  party. 

About  the  same  time  Seward  gave  utterance  to  a  dec 
laration  very  similar  to  Lincoln's,  when  he  said,  in  a 
speech  at  Rochester,  that  between  freedom  and  slavery 
there  was  an  "irrepressible  conflict."  This  conflict  was 
at  fever  heat  in  1859.  On  ^e  J7tn  °f  October  of  that 
year  the  country  was  startled  by  the  news  of  John  Brown's 
raid  into  Virginia.  He  captured  the  arsenal  at  Harper's 
Ferry,  took  possession  of  the  bridge  which  crosses  the 
Potomac,  fortifying  it  with  cannon,  cut  the  telegraph 
wires,  stopped  the  trains,  killed  several  men  and  seized 
many  prominent  citizens,  who  were  held  as  hostages. 
The  invading  force  did  not  exceed  twenty-two  men,  in 
cluding  Brown,  his  sons  and  son-in-law.  It  was  soon 

330 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

overpowered,  the  leader  and  his  followers  were  captured, 
and  Brown,  after  trial  and  conviction,  was  hanged  on  De 
cember  2,  1859. 

From  all  the  facts  afterwards  disclosed,  it  is  clear  that 
the  final  and  desperate  scheme  of  John  Brown,  the  in 
sane  folly  of  which  was  only  equaled  by  the  dogged 
pertinacity  with  which  he  clung  to  his  determination  to 
execute  it,  had  been  the  chief  subject  of  his  meditations 
and  resolves  for  a  score  of  years.  He  communicated  his 
plans  in  part  to  a  few  friends  in  New  York  and  New 
England,  from  whom  he  received  sympathy  and  money  to 
aid  him  in  his  efforts,  whatever  they  might  be,  but  who 
were  without  definite  knowledge  of  his  intention  to  make 
war  against  the  State  of  Virginia  and  the  Federal  Gov 
ernment  by  an  armed  invasion,  in  support  of  which  he 
expected  slaves  to  rally  at  his  call  and  assert  their  right  to 
freedom.  After  maturing  his  plans  he  was  obliged  to 
abandon  them  for  a  time,  owing  to  the  treachery  of  one 
of  his  comrades,  who  gave  information  that  prevented 
his  obtaining  a  quantity  of  rifles  with  which  to  arm  his 
band.  But  at  last  he  overcame  all  obstacles  and  satisfied 
himself  that  the  hour  of  vengeance  and  victory  had  come. 
It  seems  almost  incredible  that  good  men  such  as  Gerrit 
Smith,  Theodore  Parker,  and  Samuel  G.  Howe  should 
have  been  willing  to  give  aid  and  comfort  to  Brown, 
knowing,  as  they  did,  that  whatever  his  purposes  were, 
his  life  was  devoted  to  fighting  the  slave  power,  and 
securing  freedom,  by  force  only,  and  on  his  individual 
responsibility. 

331 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

During  the  interval  between  the  first  plan  of  attack 
and  his  actual  invasion  of  Virginia,  Brown  had  done  some 
bloody  work  in  Kansas,  and  captured  and  carried  off 
from  their  owner  five  slaves  whom  he  brought  safely  to 
Canada — an  action  which  his  friend  Doctor  Howe  had 
condemned.  Brown  was  possessed  by  that  kind  of  fanat 
icism  which  absorbs  the  entire  faculties  of  its  victim 
and  creates  in  him  the  illusion  that  he  is  a  chosen  in 
strument  to  work  out  some  particular  plan  of  divine 
retribution.  The  prevailing  sentiment  of  the  country, 
North  and  South,  was  that  of  horror  at  this  senseless 
and  criminal  enterprise.  The  calmness  and  courage  of 
its  leader  in  undergoing  his  trial  and  meeting  his  fate 
on  the  scaffold  excited  much  natural  sympathy  and  ad 
miration;  and  that  can  hardly  be  called  a  perversion  of 
hero-worship  which,  in  spite  of  his  crimes,  had  placed 
John  Brown's  name  among  the  immortals  as  a  martyr  in 
the  cause  of  freedom.  When  the  stage  of  real  war  for  the 
salvation  of  the  Union  was  reached,  it  was  soon  found 
that  John  Brown's  name  was  to  be  linked  with  the  music 
of  the  regiments  as  they  marched  to  the  front;  and 
probably  there  never  was  a  refrain  more  universally  on 
the  lips  of  soldiers  than  that  which  perpetuates  the  mem 
ory  of  the  stern  and  vengeful  old  Puritan  of  Ossawatomie : 

"John  Brown's  body  lies  a-mould'ring  in  the  grave, 
But  his  soul  goes  marching  on." 

Abraham  Lincoln  came  to  New  York  in  February, 
1860,  and  on  the  2/th  of  that  month  delivered  in  Cooper 

332 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

Union  the  famous  speech  which,  perhaps  more  than  any 
thing  else,  contributed  to  his  nomination  for  the  presi 
dency  by  the  Republican  party.  His  ungainly  figure, 
his  awkward  manners,  and  his  unpolished  style  of  oratory, 
were  no  hindrance  to  the  profound  impression  made  by 
his  clear  historical  review  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the 
slave  power,  and  the  cogent  arguments  by  which  he 
proved  that  slavery  was  sectional  and  freedom  national. 
My  partner,  Hiram  Barney,  who  was  his  warm  friend, 
took  care  of  Mr.  Lincoln  while  he  was  in  New  York,  and 
on  Sunday  offered  him  the  alternative  of  going  in  the 
afternoon  to  a  service  in  a  prominent  up-town  church  or 
to  the  Five  Points  House  of  Industry,  where  the  exercises 
of  the  children  gathered  in  that  institution  were  to  be 
held  under  the  direction  of  the  Superintendent,  Mr. 
Pease.  Mr.  Lincoln  decided  in  favor  of  the  House  of 
Industry.  He  was  introduced  to  the  Superintendent  by 
Mr.  Barney,  and  was  requested  to  say  a  few  words  to  the 
children.  He  said  he  was  unaccustomed  to  that  kind  of 
address,  but  consented  to  speak  to  the  boys  and  girls, 
which  he  did,  giving  them  a  few  words  of  sound  advice. 
A  stranger,  then  arose  from  the  audience,  and  said  to 
the  children  that  he  would  tell  them  a  story  about  a 
Western  boy  who,  from  the  most  humble  circumstances, 
had,  by  his  industry,  honesty  and  perseverance,  gained 
the  esteem  and  confidence  of  every  one  in  the  community 
where  he  lived,  and  had  risen  to  be  one  of  its  first  and 
most  honored  citizens,  and  that  many  of  them  thought  it 
likely  he  might  become  the  next  President  of  the  United 

333 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

States.  He  brought  his  little  speech  to  a  climax  by 
telling  them  that  the  boy  whose  struggles  and  successes 
he  had  recounted  was  the  man  who  had  just  addressed 
them. 

Three  months  after  Lincoln  had  been  listened  to  in 
Cooper  Union  with  mingled  curiosity,  surprise  and  admi 
ration,  the  Republican  convention  assembled  at  Chicago. 
Although  Lincoln  had  gained  ground,  not  only  in  New 
York  but  also  in  New  England  and  the  West,  it  was,  I 
think,  the  general  opinion  among  Northern  Republicans 
that  Governor  Seward  would  receive  the  nomination  for 
the  presidency.  The  latter  had  been  for  many  years  a 
bold,  consistent  and  able  leader  in  his  own  State  and  in 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States  against  the  steady  aggres 
sion  of  the  slave  power,  and  it  may  be  said  that  he  de 
served  to  lead  the  Republican  party  to  what  reasonably 
seemed,  in  view  of  the  hopeless  divisions  both  of  the  Demo 
crats  and  Whigs,  a  certain  victory.  But  strong  opposition 
to  Governor  Seward  existed  in  his  own  State  and  else 
where.  In  his  whole  political  career  he  had  been  largely 
under  the  influence  and  guidance  of  Thurlow  Weed,  a 
guiding  spirit  of  the  Whig  party  and  its  members,  who, 
like  Governor  Seward,  had,  with  much  reluctance,  enlisted 
in  the  Republican  ranks.  Weed  was  a  man  of  great 
ability,  an  ardent  friend  of  Seward,  and  devoted  to  his  in 
terests.  While  always  refusing  to  take  office  of  any  kind, 
State  or  Federal,  he  exerted  almost  unlimited  control  over 
the  legislature  at  Albany,  where  the  advice  and  help  of  the 
"Old  Man,"  as  he  was  familiarly  termed,  was  often  sought 

334 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

by  the  Whig  merchants  of  New  York  to  guard  them 
against  threatened  legislative  measures,  and  also  by  a  class 
of  men  who,  in  the  parlance  of  the  present  day,  would 
be  styled  "promoters." 

Among  other  schemes  aided  by  Thurlow  Weed  was 
the  procurement  from  the  legislature  of  charters  for  street 
railroads.  As  counsel  for  property  owners  who  resisted 
in  the  courts  for  several  years  the  validity  of  the  acts 
of  the  legislature  by  which  the  public  streets  in  a  great 
metropolis  were  given  to  the  railroad  companies  without 
compensation,  I  could  not  in  the  course  of  the  litigation 
but  be  made  aware  of  the  methods  by  which  franchises 
of  such  great  value  were  procured.  The  identification  of 
Thurlow  Weed  with  these  street  railroad  companies  and 
the  easy-going  acquiescence  of  Governor  Seward  with 
other  schemes  for  making  public  property  subserve  the 
interests  of  private  parties,  gave  ground  for  serious  criti 
cism  and  apprehension,  in  view  of  Seward's  candidacy 
for  the  presidential  nomination.  These  criticisms  were 
made,  though  doubtless  the  facts  on  which  they  were 
based  were  misrepresented  and  exaggerated.  I,  for  my 
own  part,  would  not  impute  to  either  Governor  Seward 
or  Mr.  Weed  anything  more  than  a  too  liberal  applica 
tion,  in  their  dealings  with  matters  affecting  their  polit 
ical  and  personal  allies,  of  that  principle  which  the  Whig 
party  had  maintained,  of  aiding  internal  and  local  im 
provements  by  legislative  favor. 

It  is  certain  that  Seward  himself  confidently  expected 
that  he  would  be  the  choice  of  the  convention.  He  left 

335 


WILLIAM   ALLEN   BUTLER 

Washington  shortly  before  it  convened,  telling  Senator 
Wilson  that  he  would  not  resume  his  seat  in  the  Senate 
until  after  his  nomination.  After  the  balloting  began  at 
Chicago  the  result  was  communicated  to  him  by  telegraph 
at  his  home  at  Auburn,  where  he  was  surrounded  by 
neighbors  and  friends  who,  like  himself,  expected  his 
nomination  as  a  foregone  conclusion.  A  friend  and  fel 
low-townsman  of  Governor  Seward,  who  lived  near  him, 
afterwards  gave  me  an  account  of  the  evening  in  Auburn. 
The  Seward  mansion  was  illuminated  and  opened,  and 
the  villagers  were  ready  to  congratulate  their  most  promi 
nent  citizen  upon  his  nomination  for  the  first  place  in  the 
nation.  Of  the  233  votes  required  for  the  nomination, 
Seward,  on  the  first  ballot,  received  only  173^,  lacking 
59^  votes  of  the  required  number.  Lincoln  came  next 
with  1 02,  while  Cameron,  Chase  and  Bates  had  50!,  49, 
and  48,  respectively,  the  remaining  votes  being  scattered. 
On  the  second  ballot  Seward's  lead  increased  to  184! 
against  181  for  Lincoln,  and  on  the  third  ballot  all  the 
opposition  to  Seward  was  concentrated  in  favor  of  Lincoln, 
who  was,  thereupon,  unanimously  nominated.  Hannibal 
Hamlin,  of  Maine,  was  selected  as  the  candidate  for  vice- 
president. 

To  Seward  and  his  friends,  who  had  expected  his  nom 
ination  on  the  first  ballot,  this  was  a  crushing  blow.  One 
by  one  the  neighbors,  who  had  come  to  greet  him  as  the 
choice  of  the  convention,  took  leave  of  him  in  grief  and 
silence.  He  alone  preserved  a  calm  and  dignified  manner, 
though  he  did  not  conceal  his  great  disappointment.  The 

336 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

lights  were  extinguished,  the  people  retired  to  their  homes, 
and  the  general  feeling  was  that  they  were  under  the 
shadow  of  a  great  calamity. 

The  nomination  of  Lincoln  was,  to  a  large  extent,  a 
surprise  to  the  public  and  to  the  Republican  party.  A 
great  deal  of  explanation  was  required  to  account  for  his 
overwhelming  strength  in  the  convention;  but  the  result 
was  soon  accepted  as  the  wisest  which  could  have  been 
reached.  The  political  campaign  of  1860  was  marked 
chiefly  by  the  enthusiasm  with  which,  in  all  the  Northern 
States,  the  Republicans  and  the  papers  whose  sympathies 
were  with  them,  rallied  to  the  support  of  a  cause  and  a 
leader  for  whom  victory  was  well  assured. 

The  Democratic  party  was  rent  in  twain  by  the  con 
flicting  opinions  of  its  leaders.  Its  convention  at  Charles 
ton  divided  into  two  factions,  each  of  which,  after  being 
separately  organized,  adjourned  without  nominating  can 
didates  for  the  presidency.  Later  on,  the  extreme  pro- 
slavery  division  met  at  Baltimore  and  put  in  nomination 
John  C.  Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky,  and  Joseph  Lane,  of 
Oregon,  while  the  Douglas  Democrats,  who  met  at  the 
same  place,  named  their  old  leader  for  the  presidency. 
Herschel  V.  Johnson,  of  Georgia,  was  afterwards  asso 
ciated  with  him  as  the  candidate  for  vice-president.  A 
remnant  of  the  old  Whig  party  put  in  nomination  John 
Bell,  of  Tennessee,  and  Edward  Everett,  of  Massachusetts. 

The  Republican  platform  was,  in  substance,  a  declar 
ation  of  the  principles  enunciated  at  Buffalo,  in  1848,  by 
the  Free  Soil  convention.  It  maintained  the  inviolabil- 

337 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

ity  of  the  rights  of  the  States,  but  denounced  the  Demo 
cratic  doctrine  that  Congress  was  without  power  to 
prohibit  slavery  in  the  territories,  and  included  a  con 
demnation  of  the  Douglas  "  Popular  Sovereignty."  Its 
framers  showed  great  wisdom  in  omitting  any  reference 
to  the  Dred  Scott  decision  or  to  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law. 
A  simple  declaration  condemned  John  Brown's  raid  as  a 
crime.  The  people  in  the  North  saw  in  this  exposition 
of  Republican  principles  solid  ground  on  which  they 
could  unite  and  stand  in  defence  of  the  Union  and  free 
territory.  Everything  favored  a  Republican  triumph. 
The  stars  in  their  courses  fought  against  the  evil  genius 
of  slavery  extension.  Lincoln  and  Hamlin  received  180 
electoral  votes  out  of  303.  Lincoln  had  nearly  500,000 
votes  more  than  Douglas,  but  not  enough  to  give  him 
a  popular  majority  over  all  the  other  candidates. 


338 


CHAPTER  XXII 

PRESIDENT  BUCHANAN  DAZED — HIS  CABINET — SECESSION  OF  SOUTH  CARO 
LINA — FORT  SUMTER — LINCOLN'S  INAUGURATION — HIS  CABINET — 
RELIEF  OF  SUMTER — OPENING  OF  THE  WAR — HIRAM  BARNEY — THE 
PROPOSED  PROCLAMATION  OF  EMANCIPATION — ATTITUDE  OF  FOREIGN 
GOVERNMENTS — ENGLAND  AND  THE  REBELLION — PRIVATEERS. 

THE  years  from  1861  to  1865  cover  the  period  of 
the  deadly  struggle  for  the  integrity  or  the  disrup 
tion  of  the  Union  which  has  been  variously  termed  the 
"War  of  the  Rebellion,"  "The  War  for  the  Union," 
"The  Civil  War"  and  "The  War  between  the  States." 
I  do  not  intend  to  go  into  any  details  of  the  war,  with  its 
varying  fortunes.  I  have  traced,  very  inadequately,  the 
progress  of  the  slave  power,  in  its  continuous  and  untiring 
demands,  in  order  to  show  that  the  inevitable  conse 
quence  must  have  been  either  the  breaking  up  of  the 
Union  of  the  States  to  secure  the  supremacy  of  slavery 
in  the  South,  or  the  maintenance  of  the  Union  by  force 
of  arms. 

The  election  of  a  Republican  President  made  secession, 
which  had,  up  to  that  time,  been  only  a  threat,  an  actual 
reality.  Caught  between  the  upper  and  nether  mill 
stones  of  freedom  and  slavery,  President  Buchanan  ap 
pears  to  have  been  completely  dazed  and  baffled  by  the 
dangers  and  perplexities  which  confronted  him,  and  his 

339 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

officials  acts  and  omissions  indicated  a  hopeless  inability 
to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  time.  He  held  to  the  in 
tegrity  of  the  Union  as  binding  on  all  its  citizens,  and 
denied  the  right  of  secession  by  any  State.  He  held, 
however,  with  equal  tenacity  to  the  view  that  the  Federal 
Government  could  not  coerce  a  State  to  remain  in  the 
Union  against  its  will,  that  while  it  was  unlawful  for  a 
State  to  withdraw  from  the  Union,  it  was  unlawful  for 
the  Union  to  prevent  the  withdrawal  of  a  State.  Of 
his  cabinet,  Howell  Cobb,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  was 
from  Georgia;  John  B.  Floyd,  Secretary  of  War,  from 
Virginia;  and  Jacob  Thompson,  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
from  Mississippi.  Sympathizing  with  these  Southerners 
was  Isaac  Toucey  of  Connecticut,  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
Governor  Cass,  Secretary  of  State,  shrank  from  facing 
the  impending  peril,  and  retired  within  a  few  days  after 
the  resignation  of  Cobb,  who  went  to  Georgia  to  aid  the 
forces  of  secession  and  was  followed  by  the  other  Southern 
members  of  the  cabinet.  Joseph  Holt,  of  Kentucky,  a 
border-State  man,  was  true  to  the  Union,  while  Jeremiah 
S.  Black,  the  Attorney-General,  was  a  thorough-going 
patriot  as  well  as  a  learned  jurist. 

The  cabinet,  being  thus  "a  house  divided  against  it 
self,"  could  not  stand.  For  a  time  President  Buchanan- 
yielded  to  the  sinister  influences  by  which  he  was  sur 
rounded,  not  only  in  his  cabinet  but  also  in  Congress. 
But  when  the  places  left  vacant  in  the  cabinet  had  been 
filled,  necessarily  by  Northern  men,  such  as  John  A.  Dix, 
of  New  York,  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  of  Ohio,  and  Horatio 

34-° 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY   YEARS 

King,  of  Maine,  his  hands  were  strengthened  for  more 
decisive  action  against  the  threatened  disruption  of  the 
Union.  Although  of  the  type  of  the  old-fashioned  Jack- 
sonian  democracy,  the  courage  of  Jackson  was  not  in 
Buchanan,  and  he  could  only  deplore  the  evils  which  he 
was  powerless  to  avert  and  which  he  had  not  the  strength 
to  oppose. 

The  immediate  problems  confronting  the  adminis 
tration  at  the  opening  of  the  eventful  year  of  1861  related 
to  the  forts  in  the  harbor  of  Charleston.  South  Carolina, 
always  belligerent  when  her  sovereignty  was  threatened, 
had  hastened  to  take  the  lead  in  carrying  into  execution 
the  threat  of  secession  as  the  consequence  of  the  election 
of  a  Republican  President.  On  December  20,  1860,  with 
great  pomp  and  circumstance,  the  Ordinance  of  Seces 
sion  was  passed  by  which  that  State  attempted  to  sever 
the  tie  which  bound  her  to  the  Union.  The  people  of 
South  Carolina  were  almost  a  unit  in  declaring  that  the 
Federal  Constitution  was  only  a  compact  between  sover 
eign  States  and  that  its  violation  by  the  North  not  only 
justified  but  compelled  the  withdrawal  of  their  own  com 
monwealth  and  its  resumption  of  sovereignty.  The  three 
forts  in  the  harbor  of  Charleston  were  thenceforth  regarded 
by  the  State  government  of  South  Carolina  as  belonging 
to  a  foreign  power,  and  all  the  military  and  civic  talent 
and  ingenuity  of  the  Palmetto  State  were  directed  to 
getting  rid  of  the  United  States  troops  in  these  forts  and 
securing  the  possession  of  the  forts  by  the  State.  Com 
missioners  were  sent  to  Washington,  negotiations  were 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

carried  on  by  leading  friends  of  the  seceded  State,  Gen 
eral  Scott  was  called  into  consultation,  the  cabinet  con 
sulted,  but  the  President  hesitated.  Meanwhile  Major 
Robert  Anderson,  every  inch  a  soldier,  in  command  of  the 
small  garrison  in  Fort  Moultrie,  repeatedly  informed  the 
Washington  government  of  his  need  of  reinforcements  and 
provisions.  While  the  long  delay  was  making  his  reten 
tion  of  Fort  Moultrie  undesirable,  he  secretly,  under  cover 
of  the  darkness  of  the  night,  transferred  his  command 
to  Fort  Sumter,  a  superior  stronghold,  whose  guns 
threatened  the  city  of  Charleston.  This  bold  stroke 
enraged  the  people  of  Charleston,  who  charged  it  to  be 
an  act  of  bad  faith,  but  Anderson  became  a  military  hero 
in  the  eyes  of  the  North,  and  his  prompt  and  patriotic 
action  had  no  little  effect  in  stirring  up  the  spirit  which 
was  needed  for  the  coming  strife.  Expeditions  to  relieve 
Fort  Sumter  were  planned  in  Washington  and  New  York, 
but  held  in  abeyance  pending  varied  and  futile  efforts  in 
the  old  and  tortuous  paths  of  compromise.  But  com 
promise  was  no  longer  a  word  to  conjure  with,  and  there 
was  no  Clay  or  Webster  to  bring  to  its  aid  his  magnetic 
power  or  national  sympathy.  One  by  one  the  Cotton 
States  followed  the  lead  of  South  Carolina  and  passed  or 
dinances  of  secession.  The  feeling  of  disunion  was  su 
preme  in  the  South,  while  in  the  North  public  opinion 
was  tending  toward  a  resolute  resistance,  even  to  blood, 
against  any  attempt  to  overthrow  the  authority  of  the 
United  States.  Thus  the  administration  of  Buchanan 
drifted  out  of  power  and  that  of  Lincoln  succeeded  it 

342 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

amid  the  clouds  of  darkness  which  enveloped  the  country. 

After  his  election  Mr.  Lincoln  had  remained  quietly  at 
his  home  in  Illinois,  receiving  visits  from  leading  republi 
cans  and  engaged  in  the  task  of  forming  his  cabinet. 
He  determined  to  offer  the  chief  places  to  his  most  con 
spicuous  rivals  for  the  presidential  nomination,  Seward, 
Chase,  Cameron  and  Bates.  To  the  protest  of  a  friend 
who  said  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  "They  will  eat  you  up,"  he 
made  the  shrewd  reply,  "They  will  be  just  as  likely  to 
eat  each  other  up,"  and  so  the  event  proved. 

I  had  a  humble  share  in  this  business  of  cabinet-mak 
ing.  We  in  New  York  were  very  anxious  that  Governor 
Chase  should  be  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the 
new  administration.  When  the  place  was  offered  to 
him  he  hesitated  to  take  it.  He  had  made  known  to  one 
of  my  most  intimate  friends  that  he  was  embarrassed  by 
the  fact  that  he  had  made  investments  in  land  in  Cincin 
nati  which  had  proved,  for  the  time,  unfortunate,  and  left 
him  in  a  position  where,  without  considerable  pecuniary 
aid,  he  could  not  afford  to  make  the  sacrifice  of  giving  up 
his  professional  business  and  entering  the  cabinet.  I 
laid  the  matter  before  my  father-in-law,  Charles  H.  Mar 
shall,  then,  as  always,  a  true  and  loyal  patriot,  a  friend 
of  Lincoln  and  Chase,  who  expressed  his  willingness  to 
advance,  upon  the  responsibility  of  that  friend  and  my 
self,  the  sum  of  $25,000,  needed  to  relieve  Governor  Chase 
from  any  financial  obstacle  to  his  accepting  the  portfolio 
of  the  Treasury.  The  debt,  thus  created,  was  duly  paid 
at  maturity. 

343 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

On  his  way  to  Washington  Mr.  Lincoln  came  to  New 
York,  where  he  was  an  object  of  great  curiosity.  Pass 
ing  down  Broadway  in  an  open  carnage  with  bared  head, 
he  was  stared  at  without  any  special  manifestation  of 
enthusiasm.  When  I  first  laid  eyes  on  him  in  the  Astor 
House,  where  he  was  lodged,  his  face  had  already  assumed 
that  grave  and  care-worn  expression  which  became  more 
and  more  characteristic  of  him  as  the  years  went  on. 
He  was  on  his  way  to  the  seat  of  government,  there,  as 
its  executive  head,  to  take  arms  against  a  sea  of  troubles, 
not  knowing  whether,  by  opposing,  he  could  end  them. 

The  period  intervening  between  the  election  of  Lin 
coln  and  the  4th  of  March,  1861,  was  one  of  indescribable 
agitation.  It  seemed  to  show  the  unwisdom  of  the  pro 
visions  of  the  Constitution  which  impose  a  delay  of  four 
months  before  an  administration  put  in  power  by  the  pop 
ular  vote  can  enter  upon  the  discharge  of  its  duties.  It 
is,  of  course,  idle  to  speculate  as  to  what  might  have  been, 
but  it  is  certainly  true  that  the  chances  of  reaching  a 
peaceable  settlement  of  the  national  problems  would  have 
been  much  better  could  Lincoln  have  grasped  the  reins 
of  government  with  the  new  year  of  1861. 

Lincoln,  who  had  not  added  materially  to  his  reputa 
tion  by  the  short  and  often  undignified  speeches  which 
he  made  on  his  way  to  Washington,  and  whose  entrance 
into  the  national  capital  surreptitiously  to  avoid  possible 
plots  and  conspiracies  in  Baltimore  had  excited  some  ridi 
cule,  now  stood  forth  on  the  steps  of  the  Capitol  and  de 
livered  his  inaugural  address.  This  was  the  first  of  the 

344 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

many  declarations  which  have  made  his  public  utter 
ances,  from  the  moment  he  took  the  oath  of  office  to  the 
day  of  his  martyrdom,  unique  and  immortal.  It  is  a 
striking  and  somewhat  grotesque  instance  of  the  irony 
of  fate  that  Douglas,  Lincoln's  greatest  rival,  but  in 
tending  to  be  in  the  existing  crisis  his  staunch  supporter, 
courteously  lent  his  aid  to  the  new  President  by  holding 
his  hat  while  the  inaugural  address  was  being  delivered. 
It  was  a  trifling  thing  but  very  significant. 

Lincoln  and  his  somewhat  disjointed  cabinet  of  rival 
statesmen  were  confronted  at  once  with  the  unsettled 
question  of  the  relief  of  Sumter  and  Major  Anderson. 
Negotiations  were  carried  on  by  Seward  with  Judge  Camp 
bell,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  a  represent 
ative  of  the  South  Carolina  sovereignty  and  a  secessionist, 
who  not  long  afterward  resigned  his  seat  on  the  bench. 
This  only  served  to  entangle  still  further  the  already 
complicated  dealings  between  the  government  of  the 
nation  and  the  seceded  State.  The  temporizing  policy  was, 
for  a  time,  necessarily  continued  by  the  new  administra 
tion  because  it  seemed  best  not  to  force  on  South  Caro 
lina  any  measures  which  the  bellicose  commonwealth 
could  construe  into  an  act  of  war.  But  Lincoln  had 
plainly  pointed  out  in  his  inaugural  that  while  the  in 
coming  administration  and  the  Republican  party  would 
not  interfere  with  slavery  in  the  States,  and  would  respect 
and  enforce  all  existing  laws  relating  to  slavery,  including 
the  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  he  would  execute  all  the  laws  of 
the  United  States  and  hold  and  possess  the  public  property 

345 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

which  belonged  to  them.  And  he  proceeded,  cautiously, 
but  firmly,  to  carry  out  this  declaration,  and  with  the 
aid  of  General  Scott  and  the  Navy  Department  fitted 
out  an  expedition  for  the  relief  of  Sumter,  to  be  accom 
panied  by  the  Brooklyn,  an  armed  vessel  of  the  United 
States. 

Meanwhile  public  opinion  at  the  North  reflected 
every  shade  of  sentiment.  The  fire-eaters  of  the  South 
had  their  counterpart  in  the  blatant  abolitionists  of  the 
North;  and  between  these  extremes  there  was  in  the 
North,  far  more  than  in  the  South,  a  hesitancy  and  recoil 
from  the  idea  of  civil  war,  with  all  its  direful  forebodings 
of  disaster.  The  sentiment  is  well  described  by  Oliver 
Wendell  Holmes  in  a  letter  to  the  historian  Motley,  then 
in  England.  There  was,  he  said,  a  great  uncertainty  of 
opinion — almost  of  principles.  "From  the  impracticable 
abolitionist,  as  bent  on  total  separation  from  the  South 
as  Carolina  is  on  secession  from  the  North,  to  the  Hun 
ker,  or  submissionist,  or  whatever  you  choose  to  call  the 
wretch  who  would  sacrifice  everything  and  beg  the 
South's  pardon  for  offending  it,  you  find  all  shades  of 
opinion  in  our  streets.  If  Mr.  Seward  or  Mr.  Adams 
moves  in  favor  of  compromise,  the  whole  Republican 
party  sways  like  a  field  of  grain  before  the  breath  of 
either  of  them.  If  Mr.  Lincoln  says  he  shall  execute  the 
laws  and  collect  the  revenue  though  the  heavens  cave  in, 
the  backs  of  the  Republicans  stiffen  again,  and  they  take 
down  the  old  revolutionary  king's  arms  and  begin  to  ask 

whether  they  can  be  altered  to  carry  minie  bullets 

346 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

The  expressions  of  popular  opinion  in  Virginia  and  Ten 
nessee  have  encouraged  greatly  those  who  hope  for  union 
on  the  basis  of  a  compromise."  * 

While  the  general  sentiment  in  the  South  seemed  to 
be  that  the  North  would  consent  to  peaceable  secession 
by  the  Southern  States  rather  than  fight  for  the  preser 
vation  of  the  Union,  it  was  almost  impossible  for  the 
North  to  accept  the  conclusion  that  the  seceding  States 
would  throw  down  the  gage  of  battle  against  the  Federal 
Government.  Amidst  all  the  conflicting  and  agitating 
views  and  opinions  given  out  from  the  press,  pulpit,  and 
the  platform  and  in  private  talk,  indoors  and  out,  there 
suddenly  broke  in  upon  those  confused  voices  the  startling 
news  that  the  Sumter  expedition,  although  it  had  reached 
the  Bay  of  Charleston,  had,  by  a  mishap,  been  obliged 
to  return  to  New  York;  that  this  had  left  Anderson  and 
his  little  company  unrelieved,  and  at  the  point  of  starva 
tion,  and  that  General  Beaureguard,  in  command  of  the 
Rebel  forces  at  Charleston,  had  opened  fire  upon  Sum 
ter  and  was  bombarding  the  fort,  gallantly  defended  by  its 
little  garrison.  The  government  of  the  so-called  Con 
federate  States,  which  had  been  formed  at  the  convention 
held  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  by  the  adoption  of  a  Con 
stitution,  under  which  Jefferson  Davis  had  been  elected 
President,  February  9,  1861,  had  given  no  order  directly 
authorizing  this  act  of  war.  But  the  deed  had  been  done, 
and  could  not  be  recalled.  Its  effect  upon  the  North 
was  instantaneous  and  decisive.  All  the  currents  of  loy- 

1  Rhodes,  "Hist,  of  United  States,"  vol.  Ill,  p.  311. 

347 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

alty  rushed  together,  breaking  down  all  barriers,  into  a 
mighty  torrent  of  patriotic  devotion  to  the  Union. 

Just  before  the  firing  on  Sumter,  I  dined  at  the  house 
of  an  eminent  lawyer  in  New  York  with  a  number  of 
prominent  men  whose  thoughts  were  all  engaged  on  the 
momentous  question  of  the  day.  I  sat  next  to  a  leading 
lawyer,  who  deprecated  very  earnestly  the  idea  of  a  war 
like  issue  to  settle  differences  which  he  thought  ought  to 
be  the  subject  of  compromise.  Just  after  the  first  shot  at 
Sumter  I  met  him  at  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Wall 
Street,  and  greeting  me  with  outstretched  hand  he  said, 
"I  am  with  you  now."  This  chance  expression  of  a 
changed  sentiment  wrought  by  the  fateful  shot  was  typi 
cal  of  what  went  on  through  all  the  Northern  States, 
causing  all  the  hearts  of  liberty-loving  men  to  throb 
together  with  a  newly  awakened  spirit  of  resistance  against 
the  fratricidal  blow  which  had  been  aimed  at  the  national 
life. 

Following  close  on  the  bombardment  of  Sumter  and 
the  capitulation  of  its  garrison,  who,  after  having  almost 
entirely  exhausted  their  ammunition  and  consumed  their 
provisions,  marched  out  with  colors  flying  and  with  the 
final  salute  to  their  flag,  came  the  great  Union  meeting 
in  New  York  held  on  April  2Oth,  at  3  p.m.,  in  and  about 
Union  Square.  The  house  of  Charles  H.  Marshall  stood 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Square,  and  on  a  flagstaff  set  in 
the  roof  waved  the  flag  which  had  floated  over  Fort  Sum 
ter  and  had  been  brought  by  Major  Anderson  to  New 
York.  The  appearance  of  this  symbol  of  the  national 

348 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

unity,  rejected,  insulted  and  assailed  by  men  who  had 
taken  up  arms  against  the  authority  for  which  it  stood, 
excited  a  great  enthusiasm  among  the  vast  crowds  who 
made  up  that  memorable  meeting.  The  feeling  that  the 
government  must  be  supported,  the  rebellion  crushed 
and  the  Union  upheld,  was  overwhelming;  and  for  a 
moment  it  seemed  as  if  the  irresistible  strength  of  the 
North  would  work  a  speedy  end  to  treason  and  rebellion 
in  the  South.  I  remember  that  William  H.  Appleton, 
then  the  head  of  the  great  publishing  house  which  his 
father  Daniel  Appleton  founded,  said  to  me  as  we  stood 
in  the  concourse  of  men  at  the  junction  of  Broadway  and 
Fourteenth  Street,  "We  shall  crush  out  this  rebellion  as 
an  elephant  would  trample  on  a  mouse."  Not  very 
remote  in  time  from  this  too  sanguine  expression  of  loyal 
optimism  was  the  utterance  of  General  William  Tecum- 
seh  Sherman  that  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  would 
require  300,000  men.  Under  the  prevailing  enthusiasm 
of  the  North  in  its  first  outbursts  of  patriotic  zeal  there 
were  those  who  did  not  hesitate  to  find  in  this  sober  and 
prophetic  utterance  of  one  of  the  military  leaders,  who 
was  to  have  a  large  share  in  the  victories  of  the  Union 
cause,  an  indication  of  insanity  and  a  source  of  ridicule. 
My  partner,  Hiram  Barney,  was  appointed  by  Presi 
dent  Lincoln  collector  of  the  Port  of  New  York.  This 
was  not  on  any  solicitation  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Barney, 
but,  as  Mr.  Lincoln  told  his  cabinet,  it  was  the  one  ap 
pointment  which  he  had  reserved  for  himself  and  upon 
which  he  was  decided.  This  was  a  sore  disappointment 

349 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

to  Mr.  Seward,  Thurlow  Weed,  and  that  wing  of  the 
Republican  party  which  they  specially  represented  and 
with  which  Mr.  Barney  was  not  in  sympathy.  They  had 
selected  for  the  post  of  collector  and  the  dispenser  of  the 
vast  patronage  connected  with  the  custom-house,  Mr. 
Simeon  Draper,  an  active  politician,  very  popular  with 
his  fellow  workers  in  the  Republican  organization,  and 
prominent  in  the  movements  of  the  party.  He  was  per 
sistently  put  forward  for  the  succession  when  Mr.  Bar 
ney's  retirement  could  be  effected  as  the  result  of  con 
tinued  efforts  to  that  end.  The  pressure  became  so 
great  that  finally,  and  before  the  close  of  President  Lin 
coln's  first  term,  Mr.  Barney  resigned  in  order  to  relieve 
his  chief  from  the  embarrassment  which  his  longer  re 
tention  of  the  place  would  occasion,  and  Draper,  at  last, 
in  September,  1864,  received  the  coveted  appointment. 
Lincoln's  personal  friendship  for  Mr.  Barney  never  failed, 
and  in  the  early  days  of  the  administration  he  was  often  at 
Washington  in  close  consultation  with  the  President  and 
Governor  Chase;  and  from  him  I  learned  much  about 
the  anxieties  and  perils  of  the  new  administration.  The 
idea  of  actual  war  and  bloodshed  overcame  Lincoln  with 
the  horror  of  a  great  darkness.  He  told  Mr.  Barney 
that  on  the  night  before  he  was  compelled  to  decisive 
action  he  could  not  sleep  for  the  thought  of  what  it  meant. 
Calls  for  men  and  money — more  men  and  more 
money — now  came  apace,  and  were  responded  to  with 
patriotic  promptness.  The  curtain  had  risen  on  the 
great  drama,  the  most  memorable  of  the  world's  civil 

35° 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

wars,  and  its  tragic  scenes  made  up  the  daily  staple  of 
our  lives  for  four  long  years.  From  the  first  surprising 
and  humiliating  defeat  of  the  Union  Army  at  Bull  Run 
to  the  final  surrender  of  Lee  and  the  Confederate  army  at 
Appomattox,  the  whole  story  of  the  war  has  been  told 
and  retold  a  thousand  times.  Military  men  and  civilians, 
generals  of  the  army  and  privates  in  the  ranks,  newspaper 
correspondents,  magazine  writers,  historians  and  "penny- 
a-liners"  have  joined  hand  and  hand,  pen  and  pen,  in 
constructing  the  literature  in  which  are  enshrined  the 
events  of  this  period  of  fratricidal  strife. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  follow  the  course  of  the  war  or 
revive  the  feelings  of  depression  which  followed  the  de 
feats  of  our  armies  or  the  elation  with  which  we  hailed 
their  victories,  nor  shall  I  chronicle  the  battles  lost  or  won 
or  take  any  account,  except  incidentally,  of  public  affairs 
during  the  time  of  the  war,  as  all  were  bound  up  in  the 
one  supreme  life  and  death  struggle  for  the  preservation 
of  the  Union.  It  has  been  my  aim  to  set  forth,  as  plainly 
as  I  could,  and  in  a  true  light,  the  steady  growth  and  de 
velopment  of  the  causes  which  led  to  this  gigantic  strug 
gle  and  to  the  final  overthrow  of  the  power  that  sought 
to  work  the  ruin  of  the  Union,  and  itself  perished  in  the 
mad  attempt.  The  war  was,  in  reality,  between  slavery 
and  freedom.  Slavery  took  the  sword  and  perished  by 
the  sword. 

All  the  efforts  of  the  North,  at  the  beginning,  to  prose 
cute  the  war  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  ownership  of 
the  slaves  by  their  masters  were  vain  and  futile.  Grad- 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

ually  it  became  as  plain  as  the  sun  at  noonday  that  a 
great  moral  question  was  involved  in  the  bloody  battles 
between  the  contending  armies,  and  that  the  triumph 
of  the  Union  armies  could  not  be  complete  unless  it 
brought  with  it  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves.  The  in 
evitable  outcome  was  so  apparent  to  thinking  and  pa 
triotic  men  in  the  North  that  they  became  impatient  under 
\vhat  seemed  the  undue  hesitancy  of  Lincoln  to  take  the 
decisive  step  of  striking  the  fetters  from  the  slaves.  Irri 
tation  at  what  seemed  on  his  part  a  culpable  neglect  of 
a  plain  duty  manifested  itself  in  many  forms,  including 
open  criticism,  and  private  consultations  of  ardent  Union 
men  who  favored  immediate  emancipation.  To  a  friend 
of  mine  who  was  quite  close  to  the  administration,  al 
though  not  an  officer-holder,  Lincoln  said,  "Emancipa 
tion  is  my  last  card,  and  I  will  play  it  when  I  think  best." 
His  sense  of  the  overwhelming  responsibility  laid  upon 
him,  and  his  sagacious  insight,  shaped  all  his  acts  in 
dealing  with  this  momentous  question.  Without  haste 
and  without  rest,  he  pursued  what  seemed  to  him  the 
path  of  duty. 

The  Emancipation  Proclamation  was  written  long 
before  it  was  promulgated.  Referring  to  what  I  have 
already  related  as  to  the  intimacy  between  President  Lin 
coln  and  Mr.  Barney,  I  believe  it  to  be  a  fact  that  the 
latter  was  one  of  the  first  men,  if  not  the  first  man,  who 
listened  to  the  reading  of  it  by  its  author.  Mr.  Barney 
told  me  that  while  on  a  visit  to  Washington,  Mr.  Lin 
coln  said  to  him  in  the  White  House  that  he  had  some- 

352 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

thing  to  read  to  him,  but  he  must  do  so  where  they 
would  not  be  disturbed.  He  accordingly  led  the  way  to 
a  private  room,  and,  taking  a  manuscript  from  his  pocket, 
read  to  Mr.  Barney,  substantially  as  it  was  finally  issued, 
the  immortal  proclamation.  The  reading  was  not,  how 
ever,  without  interruption.  Shortly  after  he  began  to 
read,  Mr.  Seward  appeared  and  reminded  the  President 
that  he  was  under  an  engagement  to  attend  the  funeral  of 
an  officer  of  the  army  and  that  it  was  time  to  go.  Mr. 
Lincoln  expressed  an  unwillingness  to  be  disturbed,  and 
Mr.  Seward  retired;  but  soon  afterwards  he  returned, 
reiterating  his  request  and  pleading  the  importance  of 
the  President's  presence  at  the  funeral;  upon  which 
Mr.  Lincoln  positively  declined  to  go  and  the  Secretary 
was  obliged  to  leave  him  alone  with  Mr.  Barney. 

The  years  of  the  war  were  marked  by  periods  of  alter 
nate  hope  and  fear,  depression  and  exultation.  The 
news  of  reverses  to  the  Union  armies  was  often  quickly 
followed  by  reassuring  tidings  of  signal  victories,  but  af 
ter  the  early  disasters  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  and  its 
long  period  of  inactivity  under  the  command  of  McClellan 
it  became  evident  to  the  North  that  the  struggle  would  be 
a  protracted  one.  The  resources  of  the  South,  especially 
the  determination  of  the  people  and  the  generalship  of 
their  military  leaders,  would  require  from  the  North 
the  utmost  ability,  zeal  and  patriotism  to  uphold  the  tot 
tering  Union.  The  apprehension  of  intervention  on  the 
part  of  England  by  the  recognition  of  the  Southern  Con 
federacy,  the  unfriendliness  of  the  upper  classes,  and  the 

353 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

enmity  of  the  cotton  spinners,  were  fruitful  sources  of 
disquiet  to  our  administration  and  leaders  in  public  affairs, 
while  the  open  sympathy  of  Napoleon  III  with  the  Con 
federate  cause  was  a  constant  menace  to  the  Washington 
cabinet.  John  Bright,  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  Richard  Cob- 
den  and  others  who  represented  the  strong  anti-slavery 
spirit  of  England  and  who  saw  that  the  triumph  of  the 
South  and  the  disruption  of  the  Union  would  mean  a 
victory  for  the  slave  power  and  a  fatal  blow  at  freedom, 
fortunately  gave  their  strong  support  to  the  North.  This 
kept  the  British  government  from  giving  any  direct  aid 
or  comfort  to  the  Confederacy.  The  inexcusable  negli 
gence,  however,  which  resulted  in  the  fitting  out  of  the 
Florida  and  Alabamc,  as  privateers  to  prey  on  American 
commerce,  and  their  escape  at  the  very  moment  when,  in 
due  course  of  law,  they  ought  to  have  been  seized  and 
condemned,  was  a  sin  of  omission  for  which  Great  Britain 
afterwards  paid  the  penalty  of  $15,500,000. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

HOME  AT  NO  13  EAST  TWELFTH  STREET — DOMESTIC  EVENTS — SEVEN 
SUMMERS  AT  NEWBURGH — BATTLE  OF  BULL  RUN — THE  UNION  ARMY 
— ITS  HIGH  CHARACTER — FRANKLIN  BUTLER  CROSBY — POEM  ON  HIS 
DEATH — "THE  MERRIMAC"  AND  "THE  MONITOR" — THE  EMANCIPA 
TION  PROCLAMATION. 

DURING  the  entire  period  of  the  war  our  home  was 
at  No.  13  East  Twelfth  Street.  I  had  purchased 
the  house  early  in  1857  an(^>  after  making  some  alterations 
and  enlargements,  moved  into  it  from  Captain  Marshall's 
house,  where  we  had  been  living  since  the  sale  of  our 
Nineteenth  Street  house  and  where  our  children  Howard 
Russell  and  Mary  Marshall  were  born.  A  leading  motive 
of  the  purchase  of  this  house  was  to  be  near  to  that  of  my 
father-in-law,  who  found  it  very  convenient  to  pay  a 
morning  visit  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  his  grandchildren, 
in  whom  he  greatly  delighted.  It  was  also  very  easy 
for  us  to  visit  him,  day  and  night,  and  as  long  as  he  lived 
we  remained  in  Twelfth  Street,  but  no  longer.  It  was 
here  that  three  of  our  children  were  born,  Charles  Henry, 
Harriet  Allen  and  George  Prentiss.  We  lived  in  the 
house  eight  years  and  then  I  sold  it  in  1865  to  a  Mr. 
Hardenbergh,  a  brother-in-law  of  Samuel  S.  Cox.  The 
latter  was  a  member  of  Congress  from  Ohio,  of  national 
reputation,  and  known  as  "Sunset"  Cox,  from  a  brilliant 
description  of  a  sunset  published  in  a  Columbus  newspaper 

355 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

of  which  he  was  the  editor.  As  he  was  about  to  move 
from  Ohio  to  New  York,  I  surmised  that  he  would  live 
with  Mr.  Hardenbergh  and  become  a  candidate  for  Con 
gress  from  the  strong  Democratic  district,  in  which  No. 
13  East  Twelfth  Street  was  situated;  and  so  it  turned  out. 
He  ran  for  Congress  and  was  easily  elected  and  re-elected, 
serving  until  he  was  appointed  Minister  to  Constantino 
ple,  where,  I  believe,  he  enjoyed  a  special  friendship  with 
the  Sultan.  On  his  return  to  the  United  States  he  was 
again  elected  to  Congress,  and  served  till  his  death,  Sep 
tember  10,  1889.  The  statue  of  Mr.  Cox,  in  Astor  Place 
east  of  the  Mercantile  Library,  was  erected  by  the  letter- 
carriers  of  one  hundred  and  forty  cities  of  the  United 
States,  in  recognition  of  his  services  in  their  behalf  in 
Congress. 

We  spent  seven  consecutive  summers,  including  those 
of  the  war  period,  at  Newburgh-on-the-Hudson,  on  or 
near  Seminary  Hill,  so  called  from  the  large  stone  building 
occupied  as  a  theological  school  by  a  Scotch  Presbyterian 
society.  The  school  bears  on  a  large  tablet  near  the 
front  door  a  Hebrew  inscription,  which  my  learned  friend 
Professor  Howard  Crosby  pronounced  to  be  the  motto 
of  the  Scotch  Church:  "Burning — but  not  consumed.'* 
During  the  summer  it  was  converted  into  a  boarding- 
house.  In  1859,  while  casting  about  after  the  manner 
of  city  denizens  for  a  place  for  the  summer,  I  learned  in 
some  way  of  this  Seminary,  and  made  my  way  thither  to 
prospect  for  quarters.  Just  north  of  the  building  stood 
a  brick  house  of  spacious  dimensions  and  apparently 

356 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

unoccupied.  I  walked  over  to  it,  and  gaining  the  front 
porch,  was  surprised  and  almost  entranced  at  the  mag 
nificent  view  of  the  Hudson  and  the  Highlands  which 
was  spread  out  before  us.  While  engaged  in  admiring  it, 
a  man  made  his  appearance,  who  proved  to  be  the  owner 
of  the  house,  Mr.  John  W.  Embler,  a  well-known  resident 
of  Newburgh.  He  informed  me  that  he  had  recently  lost 
his  wife,  and,  having  no  children,  was  quite  alone  in  the 
world  and  in  his  house.  He  offered  to  rent  it  to  me; 
and  in  a  very  short  time  we  established  the  relation  of 
landlord  and  tenant.  My  family  spent  two  pleasant 
summers  in  the  Embler  house  and  another  in  a  larger 
place  a  little  higher  up  the  hill  and  our  remaining  New- 
burgh  summers  in  the  Seminary  building,  the  main  part 
of  which  we  occupied  with  the  families  of  my  brother 
Benjamin  and  my  sister,  Mrs.  John  P.  Crosby.  Our 
friend  and  pastor,  the  Reverend  George  L.  Prentiss,  D.D., 
with  his  family,  was  there  in  1865. 

The  last  four  of  these  Newburgh  summers  were  made 
memorable  by  the  varying  fortunes  of  the  war,  which 
with  us,  as  with  the  whole  people  of  the  country,  was  the 
one  absorbing  subject  of  thought  and  interest.  The  news 
of  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  fought  on  Sunday,  July  21, 
1 86 1,  came  as  I  was  taking  the  train  at  Fishkill  for  New 
York.  The  report  was  that  the  Union  forces  under 
General  McDowell  had  won  a  victory,  but  this,  on  reach 
ing  the  city,  was  found  to  be  false  tidings,  and  was  con 
verted  into  a  record  of  the  defeat  and  flight  of  our  de 
moralized  army.  Gloom  and  consternation  followed  this 

357 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

first  reverse  of  the  Union  arms.  Like  all  defeats  it  has 
been  explained  and  re-explained,  but  it  stood  out  at  the 
time  as  a  startling  revelation  of  what  the  war  meant,  and 
was  to  continue  to  mean,  to  both  the  contending  parties. 
This  rude  shock  to  the  over-sanguine  leaders  in  the  North 
and  to  the  great  mass  of  its  citizens  came,  for  the  moment, 
with  crushing  force.  But  it  proved  a  salutary  lesson,  and 
overweening  confidence  was  replaced  by  stern  resolution 
and  vigorous  preparation  for  a  long  and  bloody  strife. 

Many  things  have  been  forgiven  the  South  since  its 
surrender  and  its  reinstatement  in  the  Union,  but  it  is  hard 
to  find  excuse  or  palliation  for  the  falsehoods  which 
filled  the  Southern  press  as  to  the  make-up  of  the  Union 
army  when  the  men  of  the  North  responded  to  Lincoln's 
repeated  call  for  troops.  The  volunteers  who  came  to 
the  front  to  face  the  forces  of  rebellion  were  described  in 
the  Southern  organs  as  "discharged  operatives,  street 
loafers,  penniless  adventurers,"  "men  without  honor, 
honesty  or  morality,  impelled  to  fight  without  a  single 
worthy  or  respectable  motive."  The  truth  was  just  the 
reverse  of  this.  Probably  no  army  ever  took  the  field 
superior  in  manly  and  moral  qualities  to  those  who  fol 
lowed  the  stars  and  stripes  on  the  battlefields  of  the  war. 
I  may  use  the  characterization  of  the  historian  Rhodes, 
who  says:  "What  Everett  said  of  the  volunteers  of  Mass 
achusetts  may  be  said  of  the  whole  Northern  army: 
'They  have  hurried  from  the  lawyer's  office,  from  the 
counting-house,  from  the  artist's  studio,  in  instances  not 
a  few  from  the  pulpit;  they  have  left  the  fisher's  line 

358 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

upon  the  reel,  the  plough  in  the  furrow,  the  plane  on  the 
work-bench,  the  hammer  on  the  anvil,  the  form  upon  the 
printing-press — there  is  not  a  mechanical  art  nor  a  useful 
handicraft  that  has  not  its  experts  in  these  patriotic 
ranks."*1 

The  experience  of  our  family  circle  was  similar  to  that 
of  thousands  all  about  us.  My  father's  oldest  grandson, 
his  namesake  Franklin  Butler  Crosby,  a  youth  of  twenty- 
one  years,  of  a  noble  nature,  fine  traits  and  a  devoted 
Christian,  entered  the  army,  gained  the  rank  of  lieutenant, 
was  unsparing  in  his  devotion  to  his  duties  in  camp  and 
field  and  commanded  a  battery  at  the  battle  of  Chancel- 
lorsville,  where  he  was  killed  May  3,  1863.  The  pregnant 
grief  which  came  to  our  hearts  when,  in  the  bulletin  in 
the  papers  of  the  day  following  the  battle  we  read  his 
name  in  the  list  of  the  killed,  was  only  one  instance  of 
thousands  of  like  experiences  in  the  homes  of  the  North. 
I  tried  to  express  the  feelings  which  marked  the  loss  of 
this  heroic  youth  in  the  lines  which  commemorate  his 
death.  I  reproduce  them  here  that  they  may  be  kept 
as  an  enduring  memorial. 

He  was  our  noblest,  he  was  our  bravest  and  best! 

Tell  me  the  post  that  the  bravest  ever  have  filled. 
The  front  of  the  fight!     It  was  his.     For  the  rest- 
Read  the  list  of  the  killed. 

On  the  crown  of  the  ridge,  where  the  sulphurous  crest 

Of  the  battle-wave  broke,  in  its  thunder  and  flame, 
While  his  country's  badge  throbbed  with  each  beat  of  his  breast, 
He  faced  death  when  it  came. 

1  Rhodes,  "  Hist,  of  the  United  States,"  vol.  Ill,  p.  397. 

359 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

His  battery  planted  in  front,  the  Brigadier  cried, 

"Who  commands  it?"   as  fiercely  the  foe  charged  that  way; 
Then  how  proudly  our  gallant  lieutenant  replied, 
"I  command  it  today!" 

There  he  stood  by  his  guns;   stout  heart,  noble  form; 

Home  and  its  cherished  ones  never,  never  so  dear, 
Round  him  the  whirlwind  of  battle,  through  the  wild  storm, 
Duty  never  so  clear. 

Duty,  the  life  of  his  life,  his  sole  guiding  star, 

The  best  joy  of  his  being,  the  smile  that  she  gave, 
Her  call  the  music  by  which  he  marched  to  the  war, 
Marched  to  a  soldier's  grave. 

Too  well  aimed,  with  its  murderous,  demon-like  hiss, 

To  his  heart  the  swift  shot  on  its  errand  has  flown — 
Call  it  rather  the  burning,  impetuous  kiss 

With  which  fame  weds  her  own! 

There  he  fell  on  the  field,  the  flag  waving  above, 

Faith  blending  with  joy  in  his  last  parting  breath, 
To  his  Savior  his  soul,  to  his  country  the  love 
That  was  stronger  than  death. 

Ah,  how  sadly,  without  him,  we  go  on  our  way, 

Speaking  softer  the  name  that  has  dropped  from  our  prayers ; 
But  as  we  tell  the  tale  to  our  children  today, 
They  shall  tell  it  to  theirs. 

He  is  our  hero,  ever  immortal  and  young, 

With  her  martyrs  his  land  clasps  him  now  to  her  breast, 
And  with  theirs  his  loved  name  shall  be  honored  and  sung, 
Still  our  bravest  and  best! 

Perhaps  the  gloomiest  day  in  New  York,  during 
the  progress  of  the  war,  was  the  Sunday  following  the  re 
ceipt  of  the  news  of  the  fearful  havoc  by  the  ironclad 

360 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

Merrimac  in  Hampton  Roads.  The  construction  of  this 
novel  engine  of  destruction  had  been  going  on  at  Nor 
folk  contemporaneously  with  work  on  the  ironclad  Moni 
tory  which  was  being  built  under  the  direction  of  Ericsson, 
who  designed  it  and  was  preparing  it  for  an  attack  upon 
the  enemy  in  southern  waters.  The  Merrimac^  however, 
got  the  start  in  the  race  of  equipping  these  ironclads, 
whose  entrance  into  national  warfare  gave  the  death  blow 
to  wooden  ships,  and  ushered  in  the  era  of  iron  and  steel 
for  all  vessels  of  war.  Gliding  out  of  the  harbor  of  Nor 
folk,  the  Merrimac  entered  Hampton  Roads,  March  8, 
1862,  and  in  a  short  time  nearly  all  the  Union  ships  of 
war  on  that  harbor  had  been  set  on  fire  by  the  shells  and 
their  sides  pierced  by  her  long  stem.  The  frigate  Cum 
berland  went  down  with  colors  flying,  while  the  Congress 
surrendered.  The  news  of  this  appalling  disaster  came 
like  a  thunderbolt  out  of  a  clear  sky,  and  the  consterna 
tion  in  New  York  knew  no  bounds.  That  Sunday  night, 
with  Captain  Marshall  and  some  other  friends,  we  were 
seated  in  the  library  discussing  what  new  disasters  might 
come  with  the  expected  attack  of  the  Merrimac  upon 
the  shipping  in  New  York.  It  was  easy  to  apprehend 
that  she  would  slip  past  Sandy  Hook  and  through  the 
Narrows,  destroying  all  vessels  in  her  path,  and  levy  a 
contribution  upon  the  treasury  of  the  banks  and  capital 
ists  of  New  York,  dictating  terms  which  could  not  be 
resisted.  While  we  were  holding  this  gloomy  converse, 
the  shouts  of  newsboys,  familiar  enough  in  those  days 
of  excitement,  broke  on  our  ears.  Hastening  to  pos- 

361 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

sess  ourselves  of  the  "extra"  we  read,  with  mingled 
wonder  and  delight,  that  the  Monitor,  in  spite  of  some 
mishaps,  had  made  her  maiden  voyage  to  Hampton  Roads, 
had  met  the  Merrimac  in  a  life  and  death  struggle,  and 
had  beaten  her  off,  defeated  and  disabled,  into  Norfolk. 
The  Merrimac  never  reappeared,  but  some  time  later  was 
blown  up  and  destroyed. 

The  administration  came  by  slow  stages  to  the  goal 
of  emancipation.  The  fear  of  losing  the  border  States 
was  largely  the  cause  of  Lincoln's  long  hesitation  to  take 
the  final  step  and  play  his  last  card.  Congress  had  de 
clared  the  war  to  be  solely  for  the  preservation  of  the 
Union.  The  war  Democrats  of  the  North  were  anxious 
to  exhibit,  both  their  loyalty  to  the  Union  and  their  ad 
hesion  to  non-interference  with  slavery  in  the  States. 
Generals  in  the  field  held  their  own  individual  opinions 
about  slavery,  and  these  opinions  were  soon  made  mani 
fest  by  their  acts.  McClellan,  a  Democrat  and  anti- 
Abolitionist,  returned  slaves  who  straggled  into  his  lines 
to  their  owners.  Butler,  of  Massachusetts,  a  Democrat 
up  to  the  time  of  the  war,  and  a  supporter  of  Jefferson 
Davis  in  the  Charleston  convention,  but  now  thorough 
going  in  military  service  as  a  Union  general,  took  a  most 
ingenious  method  of  cutting  the  Gordian  knot  by  the 
sword.  The  negroes  who  entered  his  lines  he  declared, 
under  the  rules  of  war,  were,  if  regarded  as  property  of 
their  owners,  contraband  of  war,  and  as  such  he  held  them, 
setting  them  to  work  in  the  entrenchments.  There  was  a 
certain  grim  humor  about  this  which  was  appreciated  by 

362 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

the  North,  and  which  at  once  gave  the  name  of  "Contra 
band  "  to  all  the  negroes  within  Union  lines.  The  act  of 
the  General  was  approved  by  the  War  Department.  In 
Missouri,  Fremont,  who  was  in  command  of  a  military 
department,  undertook,  without  orders,  to  proclaim  eman 
cipation,  thereby  greatly  embarrassing  Lincoln  and  evok 
ing  untimely  plaudits  from  Abolitionists  and  anti-slavery 
centers,  and  counter-cries  from  Democrats  in  the  North 
and  in  the  border  States.  The  result  was  his  removal 
from  command  and  the  substitution  of  General  Halleck 
in  his  place. 

Lincoln  made  an  earnest  and  sincere  effort  to  deal 
with  this  momentous  problem  by  proposing  and  carry 
ing  through  Congress  a  scheme  for  giving  freedom  to 
the  slaves  of  loyal  owners  upon  compensation  for  their 
value,  and  tendered  to  the  border  States  an  opportunity 
to  accept  these  generous  terms.  But  all  in  vain;  and, 
after  exhausting  all  efforts  on  this  basis,  he  finally  on 
July  22,  1862,  read  to  the  cabinet  the  first  Emancipa 
tion  Proclamation.  It  was  a  time  of  discouragement 
and  depression  at  Washington  and  throughout  the  North 
for  the  Union  cause,  and  Seward  counseled  the  President 
to  withhold  the  proclamation  until  after  a  success  in  the 
field  had  been  achieved  by  the  army.  The  battle  of 
Antietam  was  fought  on  September  17,  in  which  McClel- 
lan,  though  not  gaining  a  decided  victory,  had  forced  the 
retreat  of  Lee  and  his  army  into  Virginia,  thus  driving 
them  back  from  the  soil  of  Maryland,  which  they  had 
invaded  with  high  hopes  of  defeating  the  Federal  forces. 

363 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

Taking  advantage  of  this  favorable  turn  in  military 
affairs,  the  President  issued  the  proclamation  September 
22,  1862.  It  was  tentative  in  its  terms,  giving  time  for 
acceptance  of  its  conditions.  These  conditions  not  being 
complied  with,  the  final  proclamation  was  issued  January 
i,  1863.  By  its  terms,  on  that  day  the  sun  rose  on  a 
practically  emancipated  race. 

The  negro  of  the  South  may  well  say,  as  the  chief  cap 
tain  Lysias  said  to  Paul:  "With  a  great  sum  obtained  I 
this  freedom.'*  It  was  at  an  incredible  cost  of  blood  and 
treasure.  I  have  been  amazed,  while  refreshing  my  recol 
lection  of  the  war,  at  the  appalling  slaughter  in  its  battles 
wherever  fought.  We  knew  of  it  at  the  time  with  all  its 
ghastly  details,  but  I  had  not  retained  more  than  a  vague 
remembrance  of  their  frightful  figures. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

DEATH  OF  MARTIN  VAN  BUREN — FUNERAL  AT  KINDERHOOK — COLUMBIA 
COUNTY  LAWYERS — BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  MARTIN  VAN  BUREN — 
PRESIDENTIAL  CAMPAIGN  OF  1864— GENERAL  MC  CLELLAN— SPEECH  OF 
DR.  TYNG — LINCOLN  RE-ELECTED — SURRENDER  OF  LEE — ASSASSI 
NATION  OF  LINCOLN — GRIEF  OF  A  NATION — TOM  TAYLOR'S  POEM  IN 
"PUNCH** — JOHN  P.  CROSBY — HIS  DEATH — DEATH  OF  CAPTAIN  MAR 
SHALL —  MEMORIAL  —  MOVE  TO  YONKERS  —  "ROUND  OAK"  —  HOME 
POEMS  I  "  TOM  TWIST,  "  "  SOMEBODY  " — BOOKS  AND  THE  LIBRARY. 

WHILE  the  armed  conflict  between  the  North  and 
South  was  at  its  height,  on  July  24,  1862,  Mr.  Van 
Buren  died  at  Lindenwald.  In  company  with  Samuel 
J.  Tilden,  I  went  from  New  York  to  Kinderhook  to  at 
tend  the  funeral.  We  left  the  railroad  at  Hudson,  hired 
a  buggy  and  drove  to  the  village,  a  distance  of  about  nine 
miles,  a  lovely  drive  past  the  yellow  fields  just  ready  for 
the  harvest,  towards  the  heart  of  the  fertile  County  of 
Columbia.  How  fertile  it  had  been  in  great  men,  the 
greatest  of  whom  had  just  been  gathered  by  the  reaper, 
Death!1  We  skirted  the  wide  lawns  of  Lindenwald, 

1  Peyton  F.  Miller,  a  son  of  Judge  Theodore  Miller  of  the  Court  of  Appeals 
of  New  York,  has  written  a  book  entitled  "A  Group  of  Great  Lawyers  of 
Columbia  County,  New  York,"  in  which  he  reviews  the  lives  of  the  following, 
all  of  whom  were  either  born  or  practiced  law  in  that  county. 

Martin  Van  Buren,  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  Robert  Livingston,  Robert  R.  Living 
ston  (Chancellor),  Peter  Van  Schaack,  Edward  Livingston,  Robert  R.  Living 
ston,  Peter  Silvester,  John  Bay,  Ambrose  Spencer,  Jacob  Rutsen  Van  Rens- 
selaer,  Elisha  Williams,  Daniel  Cady,  John  P.  Van  Ness,  William  P.  Van 

365 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

across  whose  sunny  sward  the  last  shadow  of  the  funeral 
procession  had  already  passed.  As  we  came  to  the 
journey's  end,  the  roads  were  all  alive  with  the  crowd  of 
country  vehicles,  pressing  toward  the  same  goal.  The 
village  was  full,  as  if  some  weighty  public  interest  was  at 
stake  or  some  gala  day  had  called  all  the  company  to 
gether;  only  the  flag  over  the  green  was  at  half-mast,  the 
bell  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  was  tolling,  and  the 
people  wore  the  serious  air  of  mourners. 

The  church  was  more  thronged,  I  presume,  than  it 
ever  had  been  before,  and  there  the  funeral  services  were 
held.  The  village  choir  rendered  Dr.  Watts'  old-time 
version  of  the  Nineteenth  Psalm,  and  the  clergyman,  with 
rare  good  sense,  forebore  to  eulogize,  rather  teaching  the 
grave  lessons  of  patriotism  and  religious  truth  which  the 
hour  demanded.  At  the  close,  the  vast  concourse  of 
people  passed  silently  by  the  bier  and  took  their  last  look 
on  the  face  of  the  dead.  It  would  have  been  hard  to  find 
a  gathering  of  friends  and  neighbors  more  marked  by 
the  elements  of  sterling  manhood  and  womanhood  than 
this  at  Kinderhook.  Rustic  maidens,  not  a  few,  with 
faces  half  flushed  with  the  excitement  of  a  public  occa 
sion,  half  sobered  with  its  sadness;  wholesome,  matronly 
women ;  hale  men,  who  would  have  delighted  the  eyes  of 
the  recruiting  sergeant,  and  veterans  as  old  and  even  older 
than  the  departed.  All  seemed  moved  with  a  common 

Ness,  Cornelius  P.  Van  Ness,  William  W.  Van  Ness,  Thomas  P.  Grosvenor, 
Joseph  D.  Monell,  James  Vanderpoel,  Aaron  Vanderpoel,  John  C.  Spencer, 
Ambrose  L.  Jordan,  Theodore  Miller,  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  John  W.  Edmonds, 
Henry  Hogeboom,  John  Van  Buren,  Aaron  J.  Vanderpoel. — ED. 

366 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

and  sincere  grief.  This  was  the  best  tribute  that  could 
be  paid.  They  felt  that  they  too  had  shared  in  the  honors 
of  their  statesman.  His  fame  had  made  all  the  neighbor 
hood  famous.  He  had  been  the  link  by  which  that  quiet 
inland  center  had  been  bound  so  long  to  the  great  world 
beyond,  and  now  it  was  broken.  Our  sorrow  is  never 
so  sincere  as  when  it  is  a  part  of  ourselves  that  we  have 
lost. 

I  have  spoken  so  often  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  in  the  earlier 
part  of  these  reminiscences  that  nothing  more  need  be 
said  by  me  touching  his  character  and  his  great  services 
to  his  country.  After  his  transient  reappearance  in  the 
arena  of  politics  in  1848,  he  had  remained  in  private  life, 
reverting  to  his  old  political  associations,  passing  a  con 
siderable  portion  of  his  time  in  Europe,  and  ending  his 
days  amid  the  tranquil  scenes  of  his  country  home. 

As  Mr.  Tilden  and  I  drove  back  to  Hudson  our 
thoughts  and  conversation  naturally  turned  upon  the 
terrible  conflict  raging  with  unceasing  fury.  He  had  little 
faith  in  the  success  of  the  administration  in  its  efforts  to 
suppress  secession  in  the  South  by  force  of  arms.  A 
Democrat  of  the  Jacksonian  school  and  a  believer  in 
party  organization  as  the  main  source  of  political  power, 
he  argued  that  Jackson's  ability  to  nip  in  the  bud  the 
nullification  revolution  in  South  Carolina  was  due  to  the 
existence  of  a  strong  Union  party  in  the  South,  ready  to 
sustain  him  in  his  vigorous  and  patriotic  policy.  There 
was  no  Union  party  in  the  South  to  stand  behind  Lincoln 
and  the  North,  and  he  was  full  of  forebodings  as  to  the 

367 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

final  issue.  Like  very  many  men  of  his  way  of  thinking, 
he  failed  to  reckon  on  the  deep  moral  sentiment  which 
party  organization  and  party  leadership  are  powerless  to 
call  forth  and  set  in  array  when  merely  political  issues  or 
interests  are  at  stake. 

Reaching  the  city  in  the  early  evening  we  dined  to 
gether  at  Delmonico's,  then  at  Fourteenth  Street,  and  later 
on  I  repaired  to  Captain  Marshall's  house,  which,  at  that 
midsummer  season,  I  had  pretty  much  to  myself,  and 
began  to  write  a  biographical  sketch  of  the  ex-President 
as  a  final  tribute  to  his  memory.  I  had  but  little  sleep 
that  night,  and  early  in  the  morning  went  to  Mr.  Tilden's 
rooms  close  by,  on  the  east  side  of  Union  Square,  to 
gather  some  dates  and  data  necessary  for  the  completion 
of  my  sketch.  It  was  published  in  two  numbers  of  The 
Independent  and  afterwards  by  the  Appletons  in  a  little 
book  under  the  title  of  "Martin  Van  Buren:  Lawyer, 
Statesman  and  Man."  Until  the  publication  of  Edward 
M.  Shepard's  admirable  biography  in  1888  it  was  the 
only  printed  memorial  of  Mr.  Van  Buren.  I  was  urged 
to  undertake  the  work  of  a  biographer,  but  was  wholly 
unable  to  accept  the  task  while  in  the  active  practice  of 
my  profession.  I  yet  hope  that  at  some  time  his  still 
unpublished  autobiography  may  be  given  to  the  world. 

Notwithstanding  the  repeated  discouragements  and 
disappointments  caused  by  the  failure  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  under  its  successive  commanders  to  achieve  the 
discomfiture  of  Lee  and  the  capture  of  Richmond,  the 

368 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

military  operations  of  the  Government  went  on  persist 
ently.  The  blockade  of  the  Southern  ports  was  actively 
maintained.  The  capture  of  Fort  Henry  and  Fort  Donel- 
son  by  General  Grant  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  patriot 
ism  of  the  North  and  added  a  new  and  illustrious  name 
to  the  roll  of  military  chieftains.  New  Orleans  was  capt 
ured  and  General  Butler  held  it  with  an  iron  hand.  The 
brilliant  campaign  of  Grant,  Sherman  and  Thomas  was 
followed  by  the  transfer  of  the  General-in-chief  to  the 
leadership  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac;  and  the  final 
stages  of  the  war  were  marked  by  his  unrelenting  blows 
against  the  rebel  forces  in  Virginia,  by  their  dogged  resist 
ance,  and  by  the  march  of  Sherman  to  the  sea. 

Pending  these  successes  and  before  they  had  been  se 
cured  came  the  presidential  election  of  1864.  The  cam 
paign  was  almost  as  eventful  in  the  political  field  as  was 
that  of  our  armies  in  the  actual  strife  of  arms.  In  the 
Republican  party  the  radicals  were  in  favor  of  replacing 
Lincoln,  on  account  of  what  they  considered  his  halting 
policy,  by  a  more  energetic  Executive,  while  the  conser 
vatives  censured  him  for  his  too  aggressive  action  against 
slavery  and  his  abuses  of  power.  The  Democrats  in  their 
turn  included  all  shades  of  opponents  to  the  administra 
tion  together  with  a  vast  number  of  loyal  men  who,  under 
the  name  of  "War  Democrats,"  believed  in  the  prose 
cution  of  the  war,  but  in  the  main  desired  to  see  a  Demo 
crat  at  the  head  of  the  administration.  In  the  end  the 
clouds  of  discord  cleared  away  from  the  Republican 
skies,  and  the  star  of  Lincoln  was  again  in  the  ascendant. 

369 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

The  Democratic  party  resorted  to  the  expedient  of 
nominating  General  McClellan  for  President  on  a  plat 
form  which  denounced  the  administration  and  declared  the 
war  a  failure.  On  the  day  that  this  fatal  blunder  had 
been  committed  by  the  Democratic  National  Convention, 
I  was  taking  a  carriage  trip  through  the  Catskills  with  my 
wife.  We  stopped  for  dinner  at  Kingston,  in  Ulster  Coun 
ty,  a  strong  Democratic  center,  and  there  heard  of  Mc- 
Clellan's  nomination.  The  news  created  a  tumult  of  ex 
citement  and  called  forth  violent  exclamations.  At  the 
dinner  table  in  the  hotel  the  outpourings  of  an  enthusiast 
of  the  gentler  sex,  seated  just  opposite  ourselves,  in  sup 
port  of  the  new  candidate  and  against  his  rival,  became  so 
disagreeable  to  our  Republican  ears  that  we  were  forced 
to  abandon  our  seats  and  establish  ourselves  at  a  safe 
distance  in  another  part  of  the  room. 

General  McClellan,  while  always  a  politician,  was  too 
much  of  a  patriot  to  accept  the  part  of  the  platform  of  his 
party  which  proclaimed  the  war  to  be  a  failure,  and  he 
was  placed  in  the  equivocal  position  of  giving  the  lie  to  the 
declaration  of  the  Convention  which  had  nominated  him. 
In  the  political  campaign  of  1864,  as  too  often  in  his  mili 
tary  campaigns,  he  led  his  forces  to  defeat.  Lincoln  was 
easily  elected,  receiving  212  out  of  233  electoral  votes  and 
a  popular  majority  of  494,567. 

At  an  early  period  of  the  war,  the  New  York  Bible 
Society,  of  which  I  was  president  at  the  time,  organized  a 
plan  for  sending  bibles  to  the  soldiers  in  the  field,  and  we 
held  a  public  meeting  in  aid  of  this  effort  one  Sunday 

37° 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

evening  in  Irving  Hall.  The  house  was  crowded  and 
great  interest  was  manifested  by  the  audience.  The  chief 
speakers  of  the  evening  were  the  Reverend  Roswell  D. 
Hitchcock,  D.D.,  a  professor  and  afterwards  President  of 
Union  Theological  Seminary,  and  the  Reverend  Stephen 
H.  Tyng,  D.D.,  then  rector  of  St.  George's  Episcopal 
Church.  Both  were  popular  and  effective  speakers,  and 
well  known  for  their  anti-slavery  sentiments.  Doctor 
Hitchcock  made  a  stirring  speech  in  support  of  a  vigorous 
prosecution  of  the  war,  upholding  it  on  its  moral  side 
and  likening  the  attitude  and  action  of  the  North  to  those 
of  Samuel  when  he  hewed  Agag  in  pieces  before  the 
Lord.  His  hearers  responded  with  hearty  applause.  Dur 
ing  the  interval,  between  the  close  of  his  speech  and  that 
which  Dr.  Tyng  was  to  make,  a  collection  was  taken  up. 
Doctor  Tyng,  who  sat  near  me  on  the  platform,  suggested 
that  after  such  an  unseemly  exhibition  the  exercises  had 
better  be  closed  with  the  benediction  and  the  audience 
dismissed.  I  replied  that  it  was  my  duty  to  carry  out  the 
program,  and  I  should  announce  him  as  the  next  speaker, 
leaving  him  to  settle  the  question  with  the  audience.  I 
accordingly  introduced  the  Doctor,  who  began  with  a 
somewhat  severe  rebuke  of  what  he  regarded  as  unseem 
ly  conduct  for  a  Sunday  evening  service ;  but  instead  of 
declining  to  speak  he  launched  at  once  into  an  invective 
against  slavery.  "They  tell  us,"  said  he,  "that  we  ought 
to  love  slavery  because  it  is  a  divine  institution.  So  is 
Hell."  This  unexpected  outburst  brought  down  the  house 
with  a  round  of  applause;  and  when  it  ended,  the  Doctor 


WILLIAM   ALLEN   BUTLER 

who  had  fairly  warmed  up  to  his  work,  went  on  making 
his  telling  points  with  the  vigor  which  he  was  accustomed 
to  display  on  the  platform;  and  we  had  no  more  protests 
against  the  Sabbath-day  plaudits  of  the  people. 

After  the  re-election  of  Lincoln  and  during  the  fall 
and  winter  of  1864-65,  the  successes  of  the  Union  army 
went  on  apace.  Grant,  Sherman  and  Sheridan  were  the 
military  heroes  in  whom  the  hopes  of  the  North  were  cen 
tered  and  they  did  not  disappoint  those  hopes.  The  fall 
of  Richmond  and  the  surrender  of  Lee  at  Appomattox 
on  April  9,  1865,  virtually  ended  the  war.  The  South, 
as  General  Grant  said  in  one  of  his  most  famous  utter 
ances,  had  "robbed  the  cradle  and  the  grave"  in  its  des 
perate  efforts  to  prolong  the  war  and  support  its  tottering 
cause.  It  had  neither  the  men  nor  the  money  for  fresh 
campaigns  of  invasion,  or  for  the  defense  of  its  strong 
holds  in  the  interior  or  on  the  sea  coasts.  The  van 
quished  forces  gave  up  the  strife  and  were  at  the  mercy  of 
the  victors.  The  generous  action  of  General  Grant,  after 
Lee's  surrender,  in  allowing  Lee's  men  to  keep  their 
horses  because  they  would  need  them  for  the  peaceful 
occupations  to  which  they  must  return,  exchanging  the 
sword  for  the  plowshare,  struck  the  keynote  of  the  mag 
nanimity  of  the  North  toward  the  defeated  South.  In 
the  first  flush  of  the  triumph,  so  long  delayed  and  so  dearly 
won,  there  was  a  vengeful  feeling  which  would  have 
brought  the  chief  leaders  of  the  Rebellion  to  the  scaffold ; 
but  the  mood  of  medieval  vengeance  held  no  sway,  and 

372 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

soon  gave  place  to  a  feeling  which  called  only  for  such  re 
strictions  to  full  citizenship  as  the  interests  of  the  restored 
Union  required.  Lincoln,  had  he  lived,  would  doubtless 
have  shown,  in  his  policy  of  reconstruction,  the  same 
large-minded  and  large-hearted  patriotism  that  he  had 
shown  during  the  war.  But  only  six  weeks  intervened 
between  his  second  inauguration  on  March  4,  1865,  and 
his  assassination  on  April  14. 

No  one  event  of  a  public  nature  which  I  can  recall 
during  the  whole  course  of  my  life  brought  with  it  such 
an  overwhelming  sense  of  grief  and  gloom  as  this.  We 
had  become  familiar  with  the  war  and  all  its  distressing 
horrors,  with  the  slaughter  of  brave  men  on  sea  and  shore 
and  with  the  grief  brought  into  innumerable  homes  by 
these  deadly  encounters.  But  the  idea  of  assassination 
was  foreign  to  American  thought  and  abhorrent  to  our 
feelings.  The  taking-off  of  Lincoln  by  a  murderous  and 
fatal  shot,  and  the  attempt  upon  the  life  of  Secretary 
Seward,  as  a  part  of  a  plot  to  assassinate  both  the  Presi 
dent  and  the  chief  member  of  his  cabinet,  was  something 
which  had  no  precedent  in  our  history. 

I  doubt  if  any  public  man  was  mourned  by  the  peo 
ple  whom  he  served  as  was  Lincoln.  He  took  at  once  the 
character  of  a  martyr.  All  his  faults  and  shortcomings 
were  forgotten,  and  he  stood  forth  in  all  the  rugged  gran 
deur  of  his  nature.  By  his  patience,  his  caution,  his  cour 
age  and  his  patriotism,  he  had  saved  the  Union  at  the  cost 
of  his  own  life,  and  this  was  all  the  more  thought  of  on 
that  fatal  day  which  brought  the  news  of  the  tragedy  in 

373 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

Ford's  theater.  New  York,  which  had  gone  wild  with 
illuminations  and  fireworks  when  Richmond  fell  and  the 
South  gave  up  the  fight,  was  now  draped  with  the  symbols 
of  mourning.  The  grief  was  not  only  general  but  gen 
uine.  Its  expressions  were  like  those,  touchingly  de 
scribed  by  Southey  in  his  incomparable  life  of  Nelson, 
which  the  English  people  showed  when  their  great  naval 
hero  died,  but  with  this  difference:  Nelson's  life  went  out 
in  a  blaze  of  glory,  Lincoln's  in  the  blackness  and  dark 
ness  of  a  foul  conspiracy.  Even  in  England,  where  the 
higher  the  social  rank  the  more  pronounced  had  been  the 
aversion  to  the  cause  of  the  Union,  there  came  a  great 
revulsion  of  feeling.  This  is,  perhaps,  nowhere  better 
shown  than  in  Tom  Taylor's  remarkable  poem  which 
appeared  in  Punch,  May  6,  1865,  a  noble  recantation  of 
long-continued  sarcasm  and  abuse.  It  faces  a  cartoon  in 
which  Britannia,  as  the  central  figure,  places  a  wreath  on 
the  brow  of  Lincoln  as  he  lies  in  death,  while  at  his  feet  sits 
a  negro  with  a  broken  chain,  a  symbol  of  emancipation, 
and  at  the  pillow  of  the  death-bed,  Columbia  bows  her 
head  in  speechless  sorrow.  These  are  the  opening  lines: 

YOU  lay  a  wreath  on  murdered  Lincoln's  bier, 
YOU,  who  with  mocking  pencil  wont  to  trace, 

Broad  for  the  self-complacent  British  sneer, 

His  length  of  shambling  limb,  his  furrowed  face, 

His  gaunt,  gnarled  hands,  his  unkempt,  bristling  hair, 

His  garb  uncouth,  his  bearing  ill  at  ease, 
His  lack  of  all  we  prize  as  debonair, 
Of  power  or  will  to  shine,  of  art  to  please. 

374 


A   RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

YOU,  whose  smart  pen  backed  up  the  pencil's  laugh, 
Judging  each  step,  as  though  the  way  were  plain: 

Reckless,  so  it  could  point  its  paragraph, 
Of  chief's  perplexity,  or  people's  pain. 

Beside  this  corpse,  that  bears  for  winding  sheet 
The  Stars  and  Stripes  he  lived  to  rear  anew, 

Between  the  mourners  at  his  head  and  feet, 
Say,  scurril  jester,  is  there  room  for  you  ? 

Yes,  he  had  lived  to  shame  me  from  my  sneer, 
To  lame  my  pencil,  and  confute  my  pen — 

To  make  me  own  this  hind  of  princes  peer, 
This  rail-splitter  a  true  born  king  of  men. 

Profiting  by  the  universal  sentiment  aroused  by  the 
martyrdom  of  Lincoln,  which,  for  the  moment,  effaced 
the  bitterness  of  partisanship,  immediate  steps  were  ta 
ken  by  Republican  citizens  to  secure  a  site  in  Union 
Square  for  the  statue  which,  while  inadequate  as  a  work 
of  art,  remains  a  perpetual  memorial  of  Lincoln,  a  fitting 
counterpart  to  the  equestrian  statue  of  Washington  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  same  square. 

Our  last  summer  at  Newburgh,  1865,  was  spent  in  the 
Seminary  building  where  our  sojourn  was  made  excep 
tionally  pleasant  by  the  companionship  of  our  friends, 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Prentiss  and  their  family,  and  where,  on 
July  27,  our  eighth  child,  John  Crosby  Butler,  was  born. 
He  was  named  after  John  P.  Crosby  who  married  my 
eldest  sister  Margaret  in  1840  and  had  endeared  himself 
greatly  to  all  our  family.  Mr.  Crosby  was  a  lawyer  of 
excellent  repute.  My  father  made  him  an  associate  in 

375 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

his  new  law  business  and  gave  him  the  inspiration  of 
his  example.  As  I  have  already  related,  it  was  his  eldest 
son,  Franklin  Butler  Crosby,  who  was  killed  at  Chancel- 
lorsville.  Mr.  Crosby,  himself,  was  destined  to  a  tragic 
death.  While  bathing  in  the  surf  at  Fire  Island,  Septem 
ber  19,  1876,  he  was  drowned,  and,  notwithstanding  long 
search  and  offered  rewards,  his  body  was  never  recovered. 
He  had  a  noble  and  generous  nature  and  a  high  Christian 
character.  The  bar  of  New  York  took  special  note  of 
his  death  and  warm  tributes  were  paid  to  his  memory  by 
his  brethren  of  the  profession. 

We  had  become  so  attached  to  our  summer  home  at 
Newburgh  that  I  was  quite  willing  to  accede  to  my  wife's 
wish  to  secure  a  permanent  dwelling-place  for  a  part  of 
the  year  on  a  ridge  northwest  of  the  Seminary  and  on  a 
considerably  higher  elevation,  where  several  houses  had 
been  built  by  friends  of  ours.  One  of  these  was  apparently 
willing  to  allow  us  to  become  his  successors  in  title,  and 
accepted  an  offer  which  I  made  him;  but  almost  imme 
diately  afterward  he  changed  his  mind. 

In  September  of  this  year  we  were  hastily  summoned 
to  New  York  by  the  alarming  illness  of  Captain  Marshall, 
which  soon  had  a  fatal  issue.  He  died  September  23,  all 
his  children  being  at  his  bedside.  He  was  buried  from  the 
Second  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  of  which  the  Rev 
erend  Asa  D.  Smith  was  then  the  paster.  Dr.  Prentiss 
made  the  address,  and  spoke  in  most  impressive  and  fitting 
terms  of  the  life  and  character  of  the  friend  whose  virtues 
and  whose  love  of  country  had  been  so  conspicuous  in  the 

376 


A  RETROSPECT  OF  FORTY  YEARS 

community  whose  progress  he  had  for  so  many  years, 
helped  to  promote.  The  exposures  of  his  earlier  life  dur 
ing  a  period  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  forty-four,  in 
which  he  followed  the  sea  from  cabin-boy  to  commander  of 
the  highest  class  of  sailing  vessels,  had  doubtless  told  upon 
his  strong  constitution,  which  might  otherwise  have  easily 
brought  him  to  fourscore  years.  The  great  anxieties  of  the 
war,  coupled  with  his  intense  grief  at  the  death  of  Lincoln, 
contributed  to  the  breaking  down  of  his  physical  strength, 
bringing  him  to  the  end  of  his  earthly  life  while  he  was 
only  three  years  beyond  threescore  and  ten.  He  was 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  Union  League  Club,  and,  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  its  president.  While  the  war  was 
in  progress  his  evenings  were,  for  the  most  part,  spent  in 
the  Club,  which  then  occupied  its  earliest  home  on  the 
corner  of  Seventeenth  Street  and  Broadway,  facing  Union 
Square,  where  the  patriotism  and  loyalty  of  its  members 
were  busy  in  devising  means  for  supporting  the  Govern 
ment,  and  providing  every  measure  for  the  prosecution 
of  the  war  and  the  triumph  of  the  Union  cause. 

[My  father  here  speaks  of  the  patriotism  and  loyalty 
of  the  members  of  the  Union  League  Club.  The  Club 
itself,  spoke  in  like  terms  of  my  father,  in  the  following 
memorial  resolution  adopted  after  his  death. — Ed.] 

"Mr.  Butler  became  a  member  of  The  Union  League 
Club  on  the  sixth  of  March  1863,  on  the  nomination  of 
William  J.  Hoppin,  subsequently  President  of  the  Club. 

"  He  was  in  the  large  group  of  important  men  admitted 
to  membership  one  month  after  its  organization  and  with 
them  bore  his  honorable  part  in  the  patriotic  work  per- 

377 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

formed  by  the  Club.  He  continued  his  membership  to 
the  end  of  his  life. 

"He  was  Chairman  of  the  Library  Committee  in  1865, 
and  to  his  efforts  the  establishment  of  the  library  is  under 
stood  to  have  been  mainly  due.  Mr.  Butler  during  his 
long  membership,  did  not  swerve  in  the  least  from  the 
high  purpose  upon  which  this  Club  was  established. 

"He  never  filled  a  political  office,  but  he  did  hold  all 
his  rare  qualities  and  powers  at  the  service  of  any  worthy 
cause,  and  performed  with  energy  and  fidelity  all  such 
public  duties  as  his  associates  cast  upon  him. 

"While  he  never  sought  place  or  position,  he  willingly 
accepted  invitations  to  perform  any  duty  properly  de 
volving  upon  a  man  of  his  importance. 

"The  quiet  unostentatious  connection  of  men  like  Mr. 
Butler  with  this  Club,  adds  greatly  to  its  influence  and 
power,  and  while  not  attracting  noisy  attention,  the  fact  of 
such  connection  is,  in  the  highest  degree,  valuable  and 
important." 

Captain  Marshall  took  to  heart  everything  that  seemed 
to  him  like  delay,  irresolution,  or  error  on  the  part  of  the 
administration,  and  at  times  was  shaken  in  his  faith  in  Lin 
coln  and  almost  despaired  of  the  Republic.  In  this  he 
shared  in  the  general  apprehensions  which  filled  the  minds 
of  the  most  loyal  and  aggressive  of  the  Republican  leaders. 
He  was  impatient  of  what  he  thought  the  halting  policy  at 
Washington.  Over  and  over  again  he  urged  me  to  use 
my  pen  in  the  interest  of  a  more  radical  and  vigorous  course 
of  action.  But  gradually  he  came  to  see,  as  we  all  did, 
that  raw  haste  is  half-sister  to  delay,  and  that  the  gigantic 
struggle  of  the  civil  war  could  not  be  hurried  to  a  close. 
Such  men  as  Captain  Marshall,  in  the  central  places  of 
moral  influence  and  financial  resources,  were  towers  of 

378 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

strength  to  the  Government  in  those  dark  days  of  alternate 
victory  and  defeat,  and  no  private  citizen  in  New  York  did 
more  than  he  to  uphold  the  administration,  support  its 
policy  and  hasten  the  day  of  its  final  triumph. 

The  memorial  printed  by  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  shortly 
after  Captain  Marshall's  death,  contains  my  brief  bio 
graphical  sketch  of  him,  in  which  is  included  his  own 
short  narrative  of  his  early  life  and  its  many  eventful 
incidents,  written  in  a  simple  style  but  making  the  story 
for  this  reason  all  the  more  attractive  and  interesting. 
His  was  a  life  of  honest  toil  and  persevering  effort.  His 
example  of  integrity,  fidelity  to  duty  and  devotion  to  his 
country  ought  not  to  be  lost  on  any  of  his  descendants. 

After  the  death  of  Captain  Marshall  we  never  returned 
to  our  home  in  Twelfth  Street.  Having  failed  in  the 
proposed  purchase  at  Newburgh  and  having  sold  the 
New  York  house,  we  determined  to  pass  the  winter  out 
of  the  city,  and  looked  about  for  a  suburban  residence. 
Going  to  Yonkers  on  this  quest,  we  looked  at  a  number 
of  houses  and  were  especially  attracted  to  one  on  Palisade 
Avenue,  then  as  now  surrounded  by  centennial  oaks  which 
the  hand  of  time  had  spared  and  against  which  no  ax  had 
been  lifted.  Stepping  out  on  the  veranda  in  the  rear  of 
the  house,  we  had  our  first  introduction  to  the  noble  view 
of  the  Hudson,  from  the  Palisades,  just  opposite,  to  the 
hills  of  Staten  Island,  more  than  twenty-five  miles  away. 
It  was  a  case  of  love  at  first  sight;  for  from  that  time  un 
til  now  this  outlook  has  never  failed  to  be  "a  thing  of 
beauty  "and  "a  joy  for  ever." 

379 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

But  I  had,  at  that  time,  no  thought  of  becoming  the 
permanent  possessor  of  the  place,  which  I  had  rented  only 
for  the  winter,  expecting  to  return  to  the  city  as  our  per 
manent  future  abode.  The  house  was  not  then  well 
adapted  for  a  winter  home.  A  small  furnace  at  the  south 
end  of  the  cellar  was  the  only  means  of  heating,  aside  from 
open  fireplaces,  and  the  rooms  on  the  north  side  of  the 
house  were  almost  uninhabitable  during  the  exceptionally 
cold  winter  of  1865-66.  It  was  evident  that  to  convert 
this  building  into  a  comfortable  habitation  a  work  of  recon 
struction  must  be  entered  upon,  almost  as  radical  as  that 
which  had  been  undertaken  by  the  government  in  the 
Southern  States  as  a  sequel  to  the  war.  Nevertheless,  in 
our  family,  notably  among  the  children,  who  formed  the 
majority,  all  views  favored  the  purchase  of  the  place,  and 
making  it  our  home  for  all  the  year  round ;  and  so,  after 
much  discussion,  I  became  the  owner  in  fee  of  the  prem 
ises  which  I  had  leased,  and  exchanged  my  holding  as 
a  tenant  into  an  absolute  title. 

We  christened  the  place  "Round  Oak"  in  honor  of 
the  noble  and  singularly  symmetrical  white  oak  which 
stood  in  front  of  the  house  and  which  seems  to  the  eye 
hardly  larger  at  the  present  writing  than  it  did  almost 
thirty-five  years  ago  when  it  passed,  by  the  deed,  with  the 
land  into  which  it  first  struck  its  roots  over  a  century  ago. 

[It  was  here  at  "Round  Oak"  that  occasions  arose, 
also  notably  among  the  children,  for  the  poems  that  were 
printed  in  1897  for  private  circulation,  in  a  small  volume 
appropriately  called  "Home  Poems."  Some  of  them  had 

380 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

been  published  in  magazines  and  had  also  found  their 
way  into  school  readers.  The  two  most  popular  being 
"Tom  Twist"  and  "Somebody."  The  former  is  here 
reproduced,  and  several  verses  of  the  latter  are  quoted 
in  Judge  Holt's  Memorial  on  page  408  post. 

It  was  at  "Round  Oak"  that  there  occurred  on  August 
22,  1866,  the  death  of  John  Crosby  Butler,  aged  a  little 
over  one  year.  Here  too  were  born  Margaret  Crosby 
Butler  and  Arthur  Wellman  Butler. — Ed.] 


TOM  TWIST 

Tom  Twist  was  a  wonderful  fellow, 

No  boy  was  so  nimble  and  strong; 
He  could  turn  ten  summersets  backward, 

And  stand  on  his  head  all  day  long; 
No  wrestling,  or  leaping,  or  running, 

This  tough  little  urchin  could  tire; 
His  muscles  were  all  gutta-percha, 

And  his  sinews  bundles  of  wire. 


Tom  Twist  liked  the  life  of  a  sailor, 

So  off,  with  a  hop  and  a  skip, 
He  went  to  a  Nantucket  captain, 

Who  took  him  on  board  of  his  ship; 
The  vessel  was  crowded  with  seamen, 

Young,  old,  stout  and  slim,  short  and  tall, 
But  in  climbing  and  swinging  and  jumping, 

Tom  Twist  was  ahead  of  them  all. 


He  could  scamper  all  through  the  rigging, 

As  spry  and  as  still  as  a  cat, 
While  as  for  a  jump  from  the  maintop 

To  deck,  he  thought  nothing  of  that; 
He  danced  at  the  end  of  the  yard-arm, 

Slept  sound  in  the  bend  of  a  sail, 
And  hung  by  his  legs  from  the  bowsprit, 

When  the  wind  was  blowing  a  gale. 

381 


'WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

The  vessel  went  down  in  a  tempest, 

A  thousand  fathoms  or  more, 
But  Tom  Twist  dived  under  the  breakers, 

And  swimming  five  miles  got  ashore; 
The  shore  was  a  cannibal  island, 

The  natives  were  hungry  enough, 
But  they  felt  of  Tommy  all  over, 

And  found  him  entirely  too  tough. 

So  they  put  him  into  a  boy-coop, 

Just  to  fatten  him  up,  you  see, 
But  Tommy  crept  out,  very  slyly, 

And  climbed  to  the  top  of  a  tree; 
The  tree  was  the  nest  of  a  Condor, 

A  bird  with  prodigious  big  wings, 
Who  lived  upon  boa-constrictors, 

And  other  digestible  things. 

The  Condor  flew  home  in  the  evening, 

And  there  lay  friend  Tommy,  so  snug, 
She  thought  she  had  pounced  on  a  very 

Remarkable  species  of  bug; 
She  soon  woke  him  up  with  her  pecking, 

But  Tommy  gave  one  of  his  springs, 
And  leaped  on  the  back  of  the  Condor, 

Between  her  long  neck  and  her  wings. 

The  Condor  tried  plunging  and  pitching, 

But  Tommy  held  on  with  firm  hand, 
Then  off,  with  a  scream,  flew  the  Condor, 

Over  forest  and  ocean  and  land; 
By  and  by  she  got  tired  of  her  burden 

And  flying  quite  close  to  the  ground, 
Tom  untwisted  his  legs  from  the  creature, 

And  quickly  slipped  off  with  a  bound. 

He  landed  all  right  and  feet  foremost, 

A  little  confused  by  his  fall, 
And  then  ascertained  he  had  lighted 

On  top  of  the  great  Chinese  Wall; 

382 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

He  walked  to  the  City  of  Pekin 

Where  he  made  the  Chinamen  grin; 

He  turned  ten  summersets  backward, 
And  they  made  him  a  Mandarin! 


Then  Tom  had  to  play  the  Celestial, 

And  to  dangle  a  long  pigtail, 
And  he  dined  on  puppies  and  kittens, 

Till  his  spirits  began  to  fail; 
Then  he  sighed  for  his  native  country, 

And  he  longed  for  its  ham  and  eggs, 
And  in  turning  summersets  backwards 

His  pigtail  would  catch  in  his  legs. 

He  sailed  for  his  dear  home  and  harbor, 

The  house  of  his  mother  he  knew, 
He  climbed  up  the  lightning-rod  quickly, 

And  came  down  the  chimney  flue; 
His  mother  in  slumber  lay  dreaming 

She  never  would  see  him  more, 
When  she  opened  her  eyes  and  Tommy 

Stood  there  on  the  bedroom  floor! 

Her  night-cap  flew  off  in  amazement, 

Her  hair  stood  on  end  with  surprise; 
"What  kind  of  a  ghost  or  a  spirit 

Is  this  that  I  see  with  my  eyes?" 
"I  am  your  most  dutiful  Tommy" — 

"I  will  not  believe  it,"  she  said, 
"Till  you  turn  ten  sommersets  backwards, 

And  stand  half  an  hour  on  your  head." 

"That  thing  I  will  do,  dearest  mother." 

At  once,  with  a  skip  and  a  hop, 
He  turned  the  ten  summersets  backwards, 

But  then  was  unable  to  stop! 
The  tenth  took  him  out  of  the  window, 

His  mother  jumped  from  her  bed, 
To  see  his  twentieth  summerset 

Take  him  over  the  kitchen  shed. 

383 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

Then  over  the  patch  of  potatoes, 

And  beyond  the  church  on  the  hill, 
She  saw  him  tumbling  and  turning, 

Turning  and  tumbling  still; 
Until  Tommy's  body  diminished 

In  size  to  the  head  of  a  pin, 
Spinning  away  in  the  distance, 

Where  it  still  continues  to  spin. 

One  motive  inducing  us  to  remain  in  Yonkers  was 
to  provide  for  the  better  accommodation  of  my  libraries, 
both  miscellaneous  and  law.  The  peculiar  pleasure  of 
a  book-lover  is  his  books.  They  gradually  become  mem 
bers  of  his  household  for  which,  if  he  does  not  provide, 
he  is,  perhaps,  not  worse  than  an  infidel,  but  an  in 
excusably  negligent  guardian.  Accordingly  the  first  move 
ment  in  the  interior  reconstruction  of  "Round  Oak'* 
was  the  creation  of  a  library  for  my  miscellaneous  booksr 
which  should  not  only  give  them  a  fitting  abode  but  also 
be  an  attractive  place  for  the  family  indoor  life. 

If  I  rightly  remember,  it  is  Arthur  Helps  who  says  in 
one  of  his  essays  that  of  friendships  formed  with  books 
we  never  tire,  a  sentiment  none  the  less  true  because  some 
what  trite.  Certain  it  is  that  a  man  given  at  all  to  the 
love  of  letters  finds  himself,  even  when  seated  alone  in 
his  library,  in  the  choicest  companionship.  This  is  espe 
cially  true  when  the  books  which  are  arranged  on  his 
shelves  represent  long  years  of  careful  collection  and  in 
timate  acquaintance. 

I  began  to  buy  books  when  I  was  little  more  than  a 
boy,  keeping  my  treasures  on  vacant  shelves  of  a  large 
wardrobe  in  my  bedroom.  Among  my  early  acquisitions 

384 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

of  sixty  years  ago  are  some  of  the  Pickering  Aldine  poets, 
bound  in  quaint  morocco  and  gilt,  probably  coeval  with 
their  first  publication.  These  formed  the  nucleus  of  my 
collection  of  the  entire  set;  the  later  volumes,  as  I  gradu 
ally  picked  them  up,  being  bound  in  accordance  with  more 
modern  standards.  In  the  active  years  of  my  professional 
life  I  never  had  the  time  nor  the  spare  cash  to  follow  the 
collectors  of  first  editions  and  other  rare  products  of  the 
press  into  the  alluring  and  labyrinthine  paths  in  which 
they  pursue  the  objects  of  their  search.  While  often 
disposed  to  envy  them  the  pleasures  and  the  trophies  of 
their  quest,  I  have  never  been  able  to  follow  them  so  as 
to  share  either  in  the  excitement  or  in  the  rewards  of  the 
chase.  I  have  contented  myself,  for  the  most  part,  with 
the  best  editions  of  the  English  classics  and  of  our  fore 
most  American  authors,  with  other  works  chosen  from 
the  wide  fields  of  literature,  giving  them  the  benefit  of 
good  binding.  My  edition  of  Bacon  is  a  good  specimen  of 
Pickering's  handiwork,  while  many  other  volumes,  large 
and  small,  exhibit  his  skill  and  care  in  their  exterior  forms. 
Among  other  highly  valued  works  I  include  the  fine  copy 
of  Knight's  Shakespeare. 

My  law  library  was  at  first  domiciled  in  the  room 
opposite  the  library  at  the  southeast  corner  of  the  house, 
called  the  study,  but  as  it  increased  in  the  number  of 
books,  it  was,  at  a  later  time,  established  in  the  basement 
underneath  the  library.  As  the  new  quarters  were  not 
below  ground,  but  looked  out  at  a  level  with  pleasant 
views,  I  enjoyed  its  quiet  during  many  working  hours 

385 


WILLIAM  ALLEN   BUTLER 

which  often  ran  far  into  the  night.  My  father's  law 
books,  which  came  to  me  with  those  relating  to  American 
history  and  politics,  were  supplemented  by  the  ever- 
increasing  number  of  reports,  English  and  American, 
issued  by  the  law  publishers  to  an  extent  far  beyond  the 
ability  of  lawyers  to  make  room  for  them  on  the  shelves 
of  private  libraries.  In  fact,  the  day  of  private  libraries 
intended  as  repositories  of  the  books  needed  to  keep  pace 
with  the  requirements  of  the  profession  has  gone  by.  It 
was  possible  fifty  years  ago  to  have  a  fair  working  library 
in  one's  house,  but  as  the  reports  of  forty-five  States 
claimed  recognition  the  New  York  lawyer  had  to  content 
himself  with  having  at  home  reports  of  his  own  State 
and  of  the  older  commonwealths,  and  to  rely  upon  the 
public  libraries  to  supplement  the  deficiencies  of  his  own. 

The  change  from  city  to  suburb  or  to  a  rus  in  urbe, 
such  as  Yonkers  has  become  for  all  the  year  round,  drove 
a  deep  plowshare  through  our  domestic  life  and  uprooted 
many  old  ties  and  habits.  Some  social  sacrifices  were  in 
evitable,  some  family  reunions  were  made  impossible,  and 
some  forms  of  private  intercourse  and  public  service  had  to 
be  abandoned.  Moreover,  the  hours  of  daily  travel  from 
house  to  office,  and  from  office  to  house,  showed  an  alarm 
ing  proportion  of  time  required  for  this  purpose  as  com 
pared  with  the  remainder  of  the  twenty-four  hours.  But 
in  spite  of  these  drawbacks,  not  unworthy  of  serious  con 
sideration,  I  can  not  doubt  that  although  our  change  to  a 
suburban  residence  was  a  violent  wrench,  with  some  after- 

386 


A  RETROSPECT  OF   FORTY  YEARS 

twinges  of  regret,  it  was  a  wise  and  beneficent  choice.  I 
believe  it  gave  to  both  my  wife  and  myself  the  prolonged 
lives  we  have  enjoyed,  and  to  our  children,  and  largely  to 
our  grandchildren,  it  brought  advantages  which,  in  a  city, 
would  have  been  impossible. 

If  any  one  wants  in  good  earnest  to  make  trial  of  a 
suburban  life,  let  him  begin  his  experiment  on  the  eve 
of  winter  and  pursue  it  resolutely  to  the  vernal  equinox. 
If  his  physical  constitution,  his  natural  inclinations,  his 
tastes  and  his  temper  stand  the  test  of  this  probation,  he 
will  be  surprised  to  find  how  entirely  and  how  easily 
he  can  thereafter  prefer  the  new  life  to  the  old.  The 
fact  that  every  great  and  popular  capital  has  its  outlying 
suburbs,  more  or  less  endowed  with  rural  charms  and 
the  ever-varying  attractions  of  nature,  and  the  extent  to 
which  these  are  made  subservient  to  the  needs  of  the 
citizens  who  desire  to  leave  the  city  for  the  country, 
show  how  universal  is  the  craving  for  a  fuller  physical 
enjoyment  of  life  than  can  be  found  in  a  metropolis. 

Living  in  the  open,  enjoying  companionship  with  nat 
ure,  looking  daily  upon  the  broad  river  with  its  rocky 
ramparts  and  upon  the  myriad  forms  of  plants  and  flowers, 
of  growing  shrubs  and  trees,  sleeping  in  the  uncontami- 
nated  air  and  waking  amid  the  glow  of  dawn,  unrestricted 
by  the  encircling  obstructions  of  the  town — these  were 
ample  compensations  for  the  self-denials  which  they  cost. 

Having  been  spared  to  bring  my  unimportant  narra 
tive  down  to  the  close  of  the  war  and  the  removal  of  our 

387 


WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 

family  from  the  city  to  our  suburban  home,  I  have  reached 
a  point  at  which  I  may  close  this  part  of  these  reminis 
cences.  Should  I  be  prevented  from  completing  the 
whole  work,  this  portion  of  it  which  I  have  been  able  to 
finish  will  stand  by  itself  for  what  it  is  worth,  and  to  that 
extent  will  have  accomplished  the  design  for  which  it  was 
undertaken. 

[My  father  had  intended  to  continue  his  reminiscences 
until  the  end  of  the  century,  but  he  was  able  to  bring  them 
down,  in  finished  and  consecutive  form,  only  to  1865. 

During  one  of  his  last  conversations  with  us  on  the  sub 
ject,  he  repeated  the  thought  embodied  in  the  last  sentence 
of  this  Retrospect:  "That  part  of  my  work/'  he  said,  "giv 
ing  the  causes  of  the  Civil  War,  and  events  until  the  time 
of  our  moving  to  "Round  Oak,"  is  finished,  and  you  may 
do  with  it  what  you  choose." 

There  has  been  no  question  as  to  choice.  It  has  been 
a  sacred  duty,  as  well  as  a  grateful  task,  to  prepare  these 
pages,  not  only  for  those  for  whom  they  were  intended, 
but  also  for  all  others  who  may  wish  to  share  them  with 
us. — ED.] 


APPENDIX 


MEMORIAL  OF  WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER 
BY  GEORGE  C.  HOLT 

READ    BEFORE    THE    ASSOCIATION    OF    THE    BAR    OF    THE 
CITY    OF    NEW    YORK,    MARCH    IO,    1903 

WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER  was  born  at  Albany,  on  Feb 
ruary  20,  1825,  and  died  at  Yonkers,  on  September  9,  1902. 
He  was  a  son  of  Benjamin  F.  Butler  and  Harriet  Allen, 
his  wife.  She  was  a  relative  of  Lieutenant  William  How 
ard  Allen  of  the  Navy,  for  whom  William  Allen  Butler  was 
named. 

Benjamin  F.  Butler  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
lawyers  of  his  time.  He  was  Attorney  General  in  the  cabinets 
of  Presidents  Jackson  and  Van  Buren.  One  of  William  Allen 
Butler's  earliest  recollections  was  of  being  frequently,  when  a 
little  boy,  at  the  White  House,  where  he  was  an  especial  pet 
of  President  Van  Buren.  The  relations  between  Mr.  Van 
Buren  and  William  Allen  Butler  during  all  Mr.  Van  Buren's 
life  were  very  friendly.  Mr.  Butler  regarded  him  with  great 
esteem  and  admiration,  and  after  his  death,  about  the  beginning 
of  the  war,  Mr.  Butler  delivered  an  admirable  address  on 
"Martin  Van  Buren,  as  Lawyer,  Statesman  and  Man,"  which 
contains  a  high  estimate  of  his  ability  and  shows  the  affection 
ate  regard  which  he  felt  towards  him  personally.  Mr.  Ben 
jamin  F.  Butler  was  one  of  the  authors  of  the  revision  of  the 
laws  of  New  York  of  1830.  One  of  the  most  interesting  oc 
casions  which  has  ever  occurred  in  this  Association  was  the 
presentation  by  Mr.  William  Allen  Butler  to  the  Association  of 

391 


APPENDIX 

portraits  of  the  three  revisers,  with  an  address  giving  a  history 
of  their  lives  and  of  the  revision.  No  one  who  heard  that 
address  failed  to  be  deeply  impressed  by  the  beautiful  tone  of 
filial  admiration  and  affection  with  which  he  described  in  it  the 
life  and  professional  career  of  his  father.  The  portrait  of  Mr. 
Benjamin  F.  Butler  is  a  copy  of  the  original  portrait  by  Hicks, 
which  always  hung  in  Mr.  Butler's  dining-room  at  Yonkers. 
It  was  made  by  Mr.  Howard  Russell  Butler,  who  at  an  early 
age  left  the  profession  of  tjie  law,  in  which  he  had  given  much 
promise  of  eminence,  for  the  profession  of  a  painter,  in  which 
he  has  achieved  marked  distinction.  He  was  also  the  painter 
of  the  Association's  portrait  of  Mr.  William  Allen  Butler;  and 
it  is  a  pleasant  fact  that  these  two  portraits  of  Mr.  Benjamin 
F.  Butler  and  Mr.  William  Allen  Butler,  which  are  among  the 
most  excellent  that  the  Association  possesses,  were  painted  by 
a  grandson  of  the  one  and  a  son  of  the  other. 

After  Mr.  Benjamin  F.  Butler  ceased  to  be  a  member  of 
the  cabinet  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  he  settled  in  New  York  City, 
and  continued  to  reside  there  with  his  family  during  the  rest 
of  his  life.  William  Allen  Butler  was  educated  at  the  Uni 
versity  of  the  City  of  New  York,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
in  the  year  1843.  He  was  deeply  attached  to  the  University, 
and  was  highly  honored  by  it.  During  many  years  he  delivered 
a  course  of  lectures  on  admiralty  law  before  the  Law  School  of 
the  University.  He  was  for  many  years  a  member  of  the 
Council  of  the  University,  and  after  the  death  of  his  uncle,  Mr. 
Charles  Butler,  was  its  president  for  a  considerable  time.  His 
class  since  graduation  has  had  a  dinner  each  year,  and  it  is  said 
that  Mr.  Butler  attended  fifty-five  out  of  the  fifty-nine  of  these 
annual  dinners  which  occurred  between  his  graduation  and  his 
death.  A  poem  which  he  read  at  the  fifty-fifth  of  these  dinners 
in  1897  shows  the  affection  which  he  felt  for  the  college  and  for 
his  class: 

392 


APPENDIX 

"Our  Fifty-fifth!     Since  first,  in  '43, 
Proud  to  possess  a  Bachelor's  degree 
And  flushed  with  triumphs  of  Commencement  Day 
We  sought,  downtown,  at  Barclay  and  Broadway, 
The  old  "American,"  by  Cozzens  kept — 
Long  since  to  ruin  and  oblivion  swept — 
And  there,  with  speech  and  song  and  all  good  cheer, 
Pledged  one  another  that  each  coming  year, 
Gathered  around  the  festive  board,  should  see 
The  unexampled  Class  of  '43. 

"That  day  and  this  long  years  have  rolled  between, 
Our  thirty-two  have  dwindled  to  thirteen, 
And  yet  the  pledge  we  gave  as  youngsters  then 
Has  been  well  kept  and  now  nine  loyal  men, 
True  to  its  mandate,  gather  as  of  yore, 
Send  our  best  greetings  to  the  absent  four, 
Relight  the  camp-fire  as  in  earlier  days, 
Fan  its  faint  embers  into  heat  and  blaze, 
And  call  the  roll  which  grimly  seems  to  say, 
'The  boys  of  old  are  grandsires  of  to-day.' 
Too  true;   we  linger  waiting  on  the  shore 
From  which  our  comrades  all  have  gone  before, 
With  short  farewells,  and  while  their  forms  we  miss 
We  gaze  beyond  to  brighter  scenes  than  this." 

Mr.  Butler  naturally  chose  the  law  for  his  profession.  He 
was  brought  up  in  a  legal  atmosphere.  The  family's  social 
relations  were  largely  among  lawyers.  One  sister  married  Mr. 
Daniel  De  Forest  Lord  and  another  Mr.  John  P.  Crosby. 

Mr.  Butler  studied  law  in  the  office  of  his  father  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1846.  His  first  partner  was  Hiram 
Barney,  who  was  Collector  of  the  Port  of  New  York  during 
the  war  of  the  rebellion  and  in  that  connection  held  peculiarly 
intimate  relations  with  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  cabinet.  Mr. 
Barney  was  a  man  of  singularly  attractive  manners,  who,  in 

393 


APPENDIX 

a  long  life,  knew  an  unusual  number  of  interesting  and  dis 
tinguished  people.  Few  men  whom  I  have  ever  met  were  more 
interesting  and  attractive  in  conversation,  and  it  is  a  matter  of 
regret  that  Mr.  Barney  never  wrote  out  his  reminiscences  of 
his  life.  It  would  have  made  an  unusually  attractive  book. 

After  the  firm  of  Barney  &  Butler  had  been  in  existence 
for  some  time  Mr.  James  Humphrey,  afterwards  a  member  of 
Congress  from  Brooklyn,  was  taken  into  the  partnership,  the 
name  becoming  Barney,  Humphrey  &  Butler.  After  Mr. 
Humphrey's  retirement  Mr.  George  W.  Parsons  was  taken 
into  the  firm,  the  new  style  being  Barney,  Butler  &  Parsons. 
This  firm  was  succeeded  by  the  firm  of  Butler,  Stillman  & 
Hubbard,  and  by  the  present  firm  of  Butler,  Notman,  Joline 
&  Mynderse,  in  which  Mr.  Butler's  oldest  son,  Mr.  William 
Allen  Butler,  Jr.,  has  been  for  many  years  a  member. 

During  Mr.  Butler's  entire  life  the  firm  with  which  he  was 
connected  did  a  very  large  law  business.  Mr.  Butler  was  the 
leading  advocate  in  the  firm,  but  his  professional  work  was  not 
at  all  confined  to  advocacy.  He  took  also  a  laborious  and  active 
part  as  office  counsel  and  in  the  general  administration  of  the 
business.  In  1850  Mr.  Butler  married  Miss  Mary  Russell 
Marshall,  a  daughter  of  Captain  Charles  H.  Marshall,  of  the 
famous  Black  Ball  line  of  packet  ships,  and  who,  from  1845  to 
1865,  was  one  of  the  Board  of  Pilot  Commissioners.  Mr. 
Butler  became  at  an  early  age  counsel  for  this  board.  The 
regulation  of  pilotage  for  the  Port  of  New  York,  although  Con 
gress  has  power  to  regulate  it,  has  usually  been  left  under  the 
control  of  the  States.  A  vicious  system  of  political  control  in 
the  creation  and  maintenance  of  the  Board  of  Port  Wardens, 
which  resulted  in  terrible  disasters  on  Rockaway  Beach  and  the 
shipwreck  of  the  vessels  the  Bristol  and  the  Mexico,  with  the 
loss  of  many  lives,  in  the  years  1836  and  1837,  excited  a  storm  of 
public  indignation,  and  the  Port  Warden  system  was  abolished. 

394 


APPENDIX 

In  1845  the  State  repealed  all  its  pilotage  laws,  apparently  ex 
pecting  that  the  matter  would  be  adequately  regulated  by 
Congress;  but  it  was  not.  The  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the 
Board  of  Marine  Underwriters  thereupon  formed  a  voluntary 
association  for  the  licensing  and  government  of  pilots,  which 
continued  until  1853,  when  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  creat 
ing  a  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Pilots,  on  the  basis  of  the  exist 
ing  voluntary  organization,  providing  that  three  commissioners 
should  be  elected  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  two  by  the 
Board  of  Marine  Underwriters.  The  constitutionality  of  this 
act  was  questioned  on  the  ground  that  the  method  of  the  ap 
pointment  of  the  commissioners  by  non-political  organizations 
was  contrary  to  the  Constitution  of  the  State  and  also  on  the 
fundamental  ground  that  Congress  alone  had  authority  to  pass 
laws  regulating  the  subject  of  pilotage.  In  the  case  of  Sturgis 
v.  Spofford  (45  N.  Y.,  446),  Mr.  Butler  successfully  main 
tained  the  constitutionality  of  the  law,  which  has  remained  in 
force  ever  since.  It  is  believed  that  the  Pilotage  Board  affords 
the  sole  instance  in  this  State  of  public  officers  appointed  by 
private  organizations  having  no  political  or  public  authority. 
It  is  a  matter  of  public  congratulation  that  a  method  should 
have  been  selected  for  the  appointment  of  this  board  having  in 
charge  such  important  interests  in  connection  with  the  com 
merce  of  this  port,  which  has  always  kept  it  free  from  political 
influences,  and  Mr.  Butler  is  entitled  to  much  of  the  credit  for 
the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  the  system.  Besides 
the  regulation  of  pilotage  the  board  was  empowered  by  the 
Legislature  to  prevent  encroachments  on  the  public  piers.  In 
the  case  of  People  v.  Vanderbilt  (26  N.  Y.,  286)  Mr.  Butler 
succeeded  in  setting  aside  a  grant  made  by  the  Common  Coun 
cil  of  a  pier  in  the  North  River  and  compelled  the  proprietors 
of  private  steamship  lines  to  desist  from  the  exclusive  possession 
of  piers  to  the  injury  of  general  commerce.  This  led  to  legis- 

395 


APPENDIX 

lation  establishing  the  present  system  permitting  the  erection 
of  sheds  on  certain  piers  for  the  exclusive  use  of  vessels  em 
ployed  in  regular  lines  and  the  setting  aside  of  other  piers  for 
the  general  use  of  commerce. 

Mr.  Butler's  position  as  counsel  for  the  Board  of  Pilot 
Commissioners  naturally  led  to  his  being  frequently  retained 
in  general  admiralty  business.  He  was  engaged  in  a  large 
number  of  the  most  important  admiralty  cases  brought  in  his 
time  in  New  York.  Among  these  cases  were  The  Pennsyl 
vania  (19  Wall.,  126),  which  established  the  rule  in  collision 
cases  that  if  either  vessel  has  violated  an  express  provision  of  a 
statute  establishing  a  rule  of  navigation,  the  burden  of  proof  is 
upon  her  to  establish  that  such  violation  could  not  have  contri 
buted  in  any  way  to  the  disaster:  The  Lottawanna  (21  Wall., 
558),  which  held  that  material-men  furnishing  supplies  to  a  ves 
sel  in  her  home  port  acquired  no  lien  by  general  maritime  law 
as  adopted  by  the  United  States,  but  that  the  States,  until  Con 
gress  acts,  can  authorize  such  liens  by  statutes,  and  that  such 
statutes,  although  not  capable  of  enforcement  by  proceedings 
in  rem  in  the  State  courts,  can  be  enforced  in  the  United  States 
District  Courts:  The  Scotland  (105  U.  S.,  24),  which  held  that 
the  owners  of  foreign  vessels  may  obtain  the  benefits  of  the 
United  States  Statute  limiting  the  liability  of  shipowners  for 
disasters  occurring  on  the  high  seas,  and  The  Montana,  a  case 
which  in  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  is  reported  under 
the  title  of  the  Liverpool,  &c.,  Co.  v.  Phoenix  Ins.  Co.  (129 
U.  S.,  397),  which  held  that  a  contract  of  affreightment  made  in 
New  York  to  ship  goods  by  a  British  steamer  to  Liverpool, 
where  the  freight  was  to  be  paid  in  English  currency,  was  an 
American  contract,  and  that  a  stipulation  exempting  the  com 
pany  from  responsibility  for  the  negligence  of  its  servants  was 
void  under  the  rule  established  by  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  in  regard  to  land  transportation  in  the  case  of  Railroad 

396 


APPENDIX 

Co.  v.  Lockwood,  although  by  the  law  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
of  England,  and  the  general  maritime  law  existing  upon  the 
Continent  of  Europe  such  stipulations  for  exemption  are  valid. 
But  Mr.  Butler's  professional  labor  was  not  at  all  con 
fined  to  admiralty  law.  Several  of  the  newspapers  at  the  time 
of  his  death  spoke  of  him  as  though  he  were  exclusively  an  ad 
miralty  lawyer,  but  it  is  entirely  erroneous  to  suppose  that  he 
was  exclusively  or  principally  devoted  to  that  branch  of  the 
profession.  No  man  at  the  New  York  bar  in  his  time  had  a 
more  diversified  and  general  practice,  as  a  reference  to  some  of 
the  leading  cases  in  which  he  was  engaged,  outside  of  admiralty, 
will  show.  Juilliard  v.  Chaffee  (92  N.  Y.,  529)  is  a  leading 
authority,  showing  the  extent  to  which  the  modern  authorities 
have  modified  the  rigor  of  the  ancient  rule  that  parol  evidence 
is  inadmissible  to  contradict  or  vary  a  written  contract.  War 
ner  v.  J affray  (96  N.  Y.,  248)  is  a  leading  authority  on  the 
proposition  that  an  assignment  for  the  benefit  of  creditors, 
made  by  a  citizen  of  this  State,  does  not  prevent  a  creditor 
residing  in  this  State  from  obtaining  a  valid  lien  by  attach 
ment  on  the  property  of  the  assignor  situated  in  another  State, 
if  the  requisite  steps  have  not  been  taken  in  such  other  State  to 
make  the  assignment  operative  upon  property  situated  there. 
The  Fifth  Avenue  Bank  v.  Colgate  (120  N.  Y.,  381)  decided 
what  proceedings  were  necessary  for  the  protection  of  a  special 
partner  to  extend  the  term  of  an  existing  special  partnership,  a 
question  which,  owing  to  the  obscure  language  of  the  statute, 
had  presented  great  practical  difficulties  to  the  profession  be 
fore  that  decision.  Hyde  v.  King  (3  Fed.  Rep.,  839)  was  a 
peculiar  and  intricate  case  in  which  certain  fraudulent  deeds, 
executed  by  an  official  assignee  in  bankruptcy  under  the  Bank 
rupt  Act  of  1841,  were  set  aside.  Jones  v.  Guaranty  &  Indem 
nity  Co.  (101  U.  S.,  622)  was  a  case  in  which  a  large  loan 
was  held  to  have  been  made  to  a  corporation,  although  the 

397 


APPENDIX 

bond  to  secure  it  was  the  individual  bond  of  the  President  of  the 
corporation.  Hoyt  v.  Sprague  (103  U.  S.,  113)  was  a  case  of  ex 
traordinary  complexity,  in  which  an  attempt  was  made  to  hold 
the  estate  of  a  guardian  for  investments  of  his  ward's  property 
made  many  years  before  in  the  stock  of  a  manufacturing  cor 
poration.  Chief  Justice  Waite  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  said  that  in  that  case  Mr.  Butler  made  the  most  lucid 
statement  of  complicated  facts  which  he  had  ever  heard.  In 
Juilliard  v.  Greenman  (no  U.  S.,  421)  the  United  States  Su 
preme  Court  decided  that  Congress  had  the  constitutional 
power  to  make  Treasury  notes  a  legal  tender  even  in  time  of 
peace,  and  not  as  an  incident  of  the  war  power,  upon  which  its 
previous  decisions  had  practically  based  the  right;  a  decision 
which  a  great  many  of  the  legal  profession  in  this  country  re 
gard  as  erroneous  and  as  being  shown  to  be  erroneous  by  the 
masterly  dissenting  opinion  of  Mr.  Justice  Field.  Stevenson 
v.  Brooklyn  Railway  Co.  (114  U.  S.,  149)  was  an  important 
patent  suit;  the  Liverpool,  &c.,Co.v.Gunther  (116  U.  S.,  115) 
involved  difficult  questions  in  the  law  of  fire  insurance;  the 
Fourth  National  Bank  v.  Francklyn  (120  U.  S.,  747)  is  a  lead 
ing  case  on  the  enforcement  of  stockholders'  liability;  the 
Union  Trust  Co.  v.  N.  Y.,  Chicago  &  St.  Louis  Ry.  Co.,  not 
reported,  argued  in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  Cuyahoga 
County,  Ohio,  involved  the  validity  of  the  first  mortgage  for 
$15,000,000  on  the  Nickel  Plate  Road.  The  Court  decided 
against  the  validity  of  the  mortgage,  but  the  successful  parties 
realized  that  the  decision  was  of  very  doubtful  validity,  largely 
by  reason  of  the  very  admirable  argument  made  by  Mr.  But 
ler,  and  a  very  satisfactory  reorganization  was  effected  not 
withstanding  the  adverse  decision. 

These  cases,  and  others  which  might  be  cited,  in  which 
Mr.  Butler  was  the  leading  counsel  generally,  involved  very 
large  amounts  and  very  important  legal  questions,  and  it  is  at 

398 


APPENDIX 

once  apparent  from  a  consideration  of  the  general  class  of 
questions  involved  how  wide  was  the  scope  of  his  professional 
practice.  His  general  rank  as  a  lawyer  was  very  high.  As  a 
consulting  counsel,  supervising  the  extensive  work  of  a  very 
large  office,  his  advice  was  judicious  and  accurate;  as  an  ad 
vocate  he  was  admirable,  both  in  the  trial  of  causes  in  courts 
of  first  instance  and  upon  appeals.  His  legal  learning  was 
great.  He  was  the  master  of  a  style  of  marked  distinction, 
lucidity  and  force.  A  peculiarly  charming  feature  of  his  ad 
vocacy  was  the  wit  with  which  he  almost  always  enlivened  his 
arguments.  His  humor  was  always  kindly  and  natural.  It  was 
never  too  prominent,  but  almost  always,  in  any  argument  that 
he  made,  there  were  touches  of  bright  and  spontaneous  humor 
here  and  there,  which  admirably  illustrate  his  argument  and 
always  added  a  charm  to  it.  His  wit  was  never  sarcastic  and 
never  wounded.  He  was  especially  courteous  to  young  law 
yers  whom  he  met  at  the  bar.  Many  letters  were  written  to 
members  of  his  family  after  his  death,  in  which  grateful  refer 
ences  were  made  to  this  trait  in  his  character. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  do  justice  to  such  a  light  and 
evanescent  thing  as  humor  in  specifying  instances  of  it,  so 
much  depends  on  the  circumstances  and  the  individuality  of 
the  man  who  is  the  author  of  it;  but  I  venture  to  give  a  few  in 
stances  of  Mr.  Butler's  humor,  well  knowing  how  inadequate 
any  such  instances  may  be. 

He  was  at  one  time  opening  a  case  to  the  jury  growing  out 
of  the  failure  of  a  merchant  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  East 
India  trade,  and  whose  failure  was  caused  by  the  fall  in  price 
of  a  large  quantity  of  manila  hemp  which  he  had  ordered. 
Mr.  Butler,  after  stating  the  facts,  said  that  this  firm,  like  cer 
tain  other  unfortunate  persons,  was  finally  suspended  by  too 
much  hemp. 

I  once  heard  him  begin  the  argument  of  an  appeal  in  this 

399 


APPENDIX 

way:  "May  it  please  the  Court — This  action  was  begun 
about  thirty  years  ago;  the  original  plaintiff  is  dead,  and  the 
substituted  plaintiff  is  dead  ;  the  original  defendant  is  dead; 
all  of  the  counsel  originally  connected  with  the  case  are  dead; 
and  the  principal  question  upon  this  appeal  is  whether  the 
cause  of  action  survives." 

Mr.  Butler  once  sent  a  bill  to  an  old  and  rather  close-fisted 
merchant  whose  handwriting  was  very  bad.  He  received  a 
letter  in  reply  which  was  quite  undecipherable,  and  Mr.  Butler 
asked  him  to  call  personally.  He  did  so  and  apologized  for 
his  handwriting,  saying,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  that  it 
might  be  hereditary,  for  his  father  and  grandfather  were  both 
lawyers.  He  then  began  to  make  cautious  suggestions  for  an 
abatement  in  the  account,  whereupon  Mr.  Butler  interrupted 
him  and  said:  "Now,  my  friend,  I  feel  perfectly  sure  that  if 
your  father  and  grandfather  were  here,  they  would  say  that 
this  bill  was  just  right."  The  old  gentleman,  with  a  chuckle 
of  appreciation,  immediately  drew  his  check  for  the  whole 
amount  of  the  bill. 

At  the  celebration  of  the  Centennial  Anniversary  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court  at  New  York,  in  1890,  Mr. 
Butler  was  selected  to  speak  on  the  early  organization  and 
history  of  the  Court.  The  arrangements  for  the  celebration, 
it  will  be  remembered,  consisted  of  meetings  with  addresses 
during  the  day  ending  with  a  dinner  in  the  evening.  On  the 
day  of  the  celebration  a  large  audience  attended  at  the  Metro 
politan  Opera  House.  Addresses  were  made  by  various  dis 
tinguished  persons,  President  Cleveland,  Chief  Justice  Fuller, 
Mr.  Justice  Field,  Hon.  Edward  J.  Phelps,  and  others,  all  of 
which  were  excellent  of  their  kind,  but  the  kind,  it  must  be 
admitted,  was  a  little  ponderous  and  soporific.  Mr.  Butler 
began  his  address  with  a  description  of  the  first  sitting  of  the 
Court,  which  he  ended  as  follows: 

400 


APPENDIX 

"One  interesting  incident  of  the  first  session  of  the  Supreme 
Court  in  this  city  may  detain  us  for  a  moment  longer.  It  es 
tablished  a  precedent  which  is  happily  recognized  and  followed 
to-day.  The  Court  accepted  an  invitation  to  dinner."  As 
this  was  said  a  smile  rippled  over  the  faces  of  the  audience, 
and  every  one  felt  that  sense  of  relief  which  a  bit  of  fun  gives 
under  such  circumstances.  The  thing  said  was,  of  course,  a 
trifle,  but  probably  none  of  the  other  speakers  on  that  occa 
sion  would  have  deemed  it  appropriate  to  say  anything  which 
would  raise  a  smile.  It  was  upon  just  such  points  that  Mr. 
Butler's  taste  and  tact  were  always  so  superior. 

Mr.  Butler  was  particularly  accurate  in  his  knowledge  of 
the  Bible.  It  was  very  dangerous  for  any  one  in  his  presence 
to  make  a  misquotation  from  that  source.  He  was  once 
attending  a  church  meeting  in  which  a  project  was  on  foot  for 
raising  money,  and  some  one  made  a  speech  in  which  he  urged 
with  much  insistence  the  example  of  the  widow's  mite  in  the 
Bible.  When  he  finished  Mr.  Butler  arose  and  stated  that 
he  regretted  to  be  obliged  to  correct  the  preceding  speaker,  but 
that  the  Bible  contained  nothing  about  a  widow's  mite;  a 
statement  which  was  received  with  exclamations  of  surprise 
and  incredulity  by  the  entire  audience.  Mr.  Butler  added: 
"The  widow  spoken  of  in  the  Bible  contributed  two  mites  to 
the  object  to  which  her  charity  was  directed,  an  example  which 
should  not  be  overlooked  by  those  intending  to  make  small 
contributions  to  this  cause." 

A  motion  once  made  by  Mr.  Butler  to  have  a  person  brought 
in  as  a  party  in  a  rather  late  stage  of  the  proceeding,  the  result 
of  which  would  be  to  enable  him  to  share  with  others  in  the 
distribution  of  a  fund,  was  strongly  opposed,  the  counsel  re 
peatedly  asserting  that  the  party  was  applying  to  come  in  at 
the  "eleventh  hour."  All  that  Mr.  Butler  said  in  reply  was 
that  if  the  Court  would  consult  the  authority  referred  to  by  his 

401 


APPENDIX 

learned  opponent  it  would  find  that  the  man  who  came  in  at 
the  eleventh  hour  got  as  much  as  all  the  rest.  The  motion 
was  granted. 

On  the  trial  of  the  "Nickel  Plate"  case  at  Cincinnati,  in 
which  the  opposing  side  was  trying  to  repudiate  the  first  mort 
gage,  Judge  Ranney,  one  of  the  opposing  counsel,  made  a  strong 
attack  on  the  conduct  of  an  absent  officer  of  the  road  who  had 
taken  part  in  the  execution  of  the  mortgage,  in  the  course  of 
which  he  made  what  purported  to  be  a  Scriptural  quotation, 
which  Mr.  Butler  in  the  beginning  of  his  argument  referred  to 
as  follows: 

"As  my  distinguished  and  venerable  friend,  if  I  may  be 
allowed  so  to  call  him,  Judge  Ranney,  says  that  he  may  be 
called  away,  and  as  he  has  undertaken  to  support  one  of  his 
arguments  (for  I  assume  that  he  would  interject  into  this  case 
nothing  which  he  did  not  suppose  to  be  relevant,  in  the  way 
of  argument),  by  a  quotation  from  Scripture,  I  will,  with  your 
Honor's  permission,  waste  a  moment  upon  the  point  which  he 
has  thus  made.  What  the  learned  counsel  said  in  his  argu 
ment  on  Saturday  was  that  he  was  reminded  of  the  Scriptural 
account  of  an  occurrence  which  he  stated  in  these  precise  words, 
which  I  took  down  in  my  notes  at  the  time:  'And  when  they 
were  all  assembled  with  one  accord  in  one  place,  Satan  came 
also  among  them/  The  first  part  of  the  supposed  citation  I 
find  in  the  copy  of  the  authority  now  furnished  by  the  counsel, 
in  the  New  Testament — Acts,  second  chapter,  first  verse.  He 
undertakes  to  verify  that  citation  by  going  back  several  thous 
and  years  to  the  Old  Testament,  and  quoting  from  the  Book  of 
Job.  That  is  what  they  call,  in  the  vernacular  of  Wall  Street,  a 
'straddle'"! 

Judge  Ranney:  "You  don't  repudiate  Job  down  there, 
do  you  ?" 

Mr.  Butler:  "  I  thank  the  gentleman  for  that  word.  When 
we  come  to  the  passage  in  Job  where  it  said,  *  Satan  came/ 
we  find  that  instead  of  its  being  where  all  were  assembled 
with  one  accord,  it  was  in  a  higher  tribunal  than  any  before 

402 


APPENDIX 

which  we  have  as  yet  been  called  to  appear,  where  Satan  was 
making  the  air  lurid  with  his  denunciations  of  an  honest,  ab 
sent  man.  He  said  in  substance  that  he  was  a  sham  and  a 
fraud,  and  if  he  could  get  hold  of  him,  and  turn  him  inside 
out,  he  would  be  like  the  proverbial  cat  to  which  the  learned 
counsel  likened  the  Nickle  Plate  Company,  of  which  nothing 
is  left  but  the  tail — not  even  the  skin — and  it  would  be  seen 
what  his  honesty  was  good  for.  Job  did  not  lose  his  skin. 
Unfortunately  for  him  that  was  the  place  where  personally  he 
was  most  afflicted.  He  sat  down  on  an  ash  heap,  and  scraped 
himself  with  a  potsherd;  but  he  never  repudiated.  So  much 
for  Scripture." 

Mr.  Butler's  name  is  third  on  the  call  for  the  organization 
of  this  Association,  in  which  he  always  took  a  deep  interest. 
On  various  occasions  he  prepared  memorials  of  deceased  mem 
bers,  among  them  those  of  Mr.  Nash  and  Mr.  Tilden;  that  of 
Mr.  Tilden  particularly  being  one  of  the  classics  of  the  Me 
morial  Book.  Mr.  Butler  was  President  of  this  Association  in 
1886  and  1887,  and  President  of  the  American  Bar  Associa 
tion  in  1886.  The  rules  of  that  association  require  that  the 
President  in  his  annual  address  review  the  legislation  of  Con 
gress  and  the  State  legislation  during  the  preceding  year.  Mr. 
Sutler's  address  on  that  occasion  was  not  only  admirable  in 
every  respect,  but  differed  from  any  other  ever  delivered  in 
that  body  by  occasional  touches  of  humor,  which  very  much 
relieved  the  usual  heavy  effect  almost  inseparable  from  so  dry 
a  subject. 

But  it  was  as  a  literary  man  that  Mr.  Butler  was  most  widely 
known  by  the  general  public.  When  a  very  young  man  he 
achieved  an  extraordinary  success  in  literature  by  the  poem 
called  "Nothing  to  Wear." 

This  poem  he  first  published  anonymously.  It  immedi 
ately  attained  great  popularity  in  this  country  and  in  England, 
was  translated  into  several  foreign  languages,  and  achieved 

403 


APPENDIX 

that  supreme  test  of  excellence  of  having  its  authorship  claimed 
by  one  of  those  strange  creatures  that  frequently  attempt  to 
obtain  the  credit  of  anonymous  publications. 

"Nothing  to  Wear"  was  so  well  known  that  it  was  often 
jokingly  referred  to  in  Mr.  Butler's  presence,  and  whenever 
such  a  reference  was  made  in  the  midst  of  any  serious  business, 
the  effect  on  him  was  very  disconcerting.  He  was  once  trying 
a  case  against  Mr.  Bourke  Cockran,  in  which  it  was  necessary 
to  prove  the  value  of  a  stock  of  dress  goods.  A  witness  that 
Mr.  Butler  was  examining  testified  that  the  stock  contained, 
among  other  things,  fifty  dozen  fichus.  "Won't  you  explain 
to  the  jury/'  said  Mr.  Butler,  "what  a  fichu  is"  ?  Mr.  Cock- 
ran  broke  in  and  said,  "That's  not  necessary,  Mr.  Butler; 
everybody  knows  that  a  fichu  is  an  article  that  a  lady  puts  on 
when  she  has  nothing  to  wear."  It  was  some  time  before 
Mr.  Butler  could  bring  the  Court  and  jury  back  to  a  serious 
consideration  of  the  case. 

In  the  course  of  his  life  Mr.  Butler  wrote  a  large  amount 
of  poetry  of  various  kinds.  An  edition  of  his  collected  poems 
was  published  in  1871,  and  another  containing  various  addi 
tional  poems,  in  1899.  The  last  edition  omits  a  number  of 
his  poems  printed  in  the  first  edition,  notably  his  poems  en 
titled  "Two  Millions"  and  "General  Average,"  which  are, 
I  think,  in  some  respects,  among  the  best  things  he  ever  did. 

The  style  of  his  poetry  is  about  equally  divided  between 
humorous  and  serious  verse.  His  serious  poetry  is  of  a  fairly 
high  quality,  but  his  humorous  work  is  that  upon  which  his 
reputation  as  a  poet  will  really  rest.  His  light  society  verse 
ranks  very  high  in  that  class  of  poetry.  "Nothing  to  Wear" 
is,  I  think,  as  clever  as  any  verses  of  society  written  in  English 
except  those  of  Praed.  He  was  not  the  equal  in  ludicrous 
rhymes  of  Barham,  the  author  of  the  "Ingoldsby  Legends," 
or  of  Hood  in  extraordinary  punning  verse,  nor  was  he  the  equal 

404 


APPENDIX 

of  either  Lowell  or  Holmes  in  this  country  in  purely  humor 
ous  poetry,  or  perhaps  of  John  G.  Saxe  in  rhyming  facility. 
But  with  those  exceptions  I  think  that  it  would  be  difficult 
to  name  any  writer  of  his  time  in  England  or  this  country, 
that  has  excelled  him  in  his  own  special  line.  He  was  pecu 
liarly  a  master  in  the  use  of  odd  and  unexpected  rhymes.  For 
an  illustration,  take  these  instances  from  "Nothing  to  Wear": 

"Nothing  to  wear!     Now,  as  this  is  a  true  ditty, 

I  do  not  assert — this  you  know,  is  between  us — 
That  she's  in  a  state  of  absolute  nudity, 
Like  Powers'  Greek  Slave  or  the  Medici  Venus." 

"Well,  I  felt  for  the  lady,  and  felt  for  my  hat,  too, 
Improvised  on  the  crown  of  the  latter  a  tattoo." 

"I  should  mention  just  here,  that  out  of  Miss  Flora's 
Two  hundred  and  fifty  or  sixty  adorers, 
I  had  just  been  selected  as  he  who  should  throw  all 
The  rest  in  the  shade,  by  the  gracious  bestowal 
On  myself,  after  twenty  or  thirty  rejections, 
Of  those  fossil  remains  which  she  called  her  'affections,' 
And  that  rather  decayed,  but  well-known  work  of  art, 
Which  Miss  Flora  persisted  in  styling  her  'heart.' 
So  we  were  engaged.     Our  troth  had  been  plighted, 
Not  by  moonbeam  or  starbeam,  by  fountain  or  grove, 
But  in  a  front  parlor,  most  brilliantly  lighted, 
Beneath  the  gas-fixtures,  we  whispered  our  love. 
Without  any  romance,  or  raptures  or  sighs, 
Without  any  tears  in  Miss  Flora's  blue  eyes, 
Or  blushes,  or  transports,  or  such  silly  actions, 
It  was  one  of  the  quietest  business  transactions, 
With  a  very  small  sprinkling  of  sentiment,  if  any, 
And  a  very  large  diamond  imported  by  Tiffany." 


405 


APPENDIX 

A  short  time  ago  some  newspaper  writer  asserted  that  no 
rhyme  could  be  made  on  the  name  of  Tiffany  and  a  corre 
spondent  in  the  Times  replied,  citing  this  passage. 

The  following  description  of  the  famous  Sexton  of  Grace 
Church,  from  his  poem,  "The  Sexton  and  the  Thermometer," 
illustrates  the  same  cleverness  in  rhyming: 

"No  mere  undertaker  was  he,  or  to  make 
The  statement  more  clear,  for  veracity's  sake, 
There  was  nothing  at  all  he  did  not  undertake; 
Discharging  at  once  such  a  complex  variety 
Of  functions  pertaining  to  genteel  society, 
As  gave  him  with  everyone  great  notoriety; 
Blending  his  care  of  the  church  and  the  cloisters 
With  funerals,  fancy  balls,  suppers,  and  oysters, 
Dinners  for  aldermen,  parties  for  brides, 
And  a  hundred  and  fifty  arrangements  besides; 
Great  as  he  was  at  a  funeral,  greater 
As  master  of  feasts,  purveyor,  gustator, 
Little  less  than  the  host,  but  far  more  than  the  waiter." 

Mr.  Butler's  easy  mastery  of  humorous  verse  is  well  illus 
trated  in  his  poem  called  "  Dobbs  His  Ferry,"  a  poem  directed 
against  the  silly  craze  which  existed  at  one  time  for  changing 
the  good  old  names  of  places  on  the  Hudson  River.  In  that 
poem  he  has  a  dream  in  which  he  meets  the  original  Dobbs. 

"  I  turned,  and  there  the  craft  was, 
Its  shape  'twixt  scow  and  raft  was, 
Square  ends,  low  sides,  and  flat; 
And,  standing  close  beside  me, 
An  ancient  chap  who  eyed  me, 

Beneath  a  steeple  hat; 
Short  legs — long-pipe — style  very 
Pre-Revolutionary — 
406 


APPENDIX 

I  bow,  he  grimly  bobs; 
Then,  with  some  perturbation, 
By  way  of  salutation, 

Says  I,  'How  are  you,  Dobbs  ?'  ' 

Dobbs  thereupon  frees  his  mind  about  the  new  names  of 
places,  as  follows: 

"That's  it,  they're  not  particular, 
Respecting  the  auric'lar, 

At  a  stiff  market  rate; 
But  Dobbs'  especial  vice  is, 
That  he  keeps  down  the  prices 

Of  all  their  real  estate! 
A  name  so  unattractive 
Makes  villa-sites  inactive, 

And  spoils  the  broker's  jobs; 
They  think  that  speculation 
Would  rage  at  'Paulding's  Station,' 

Which  stagnates  now  at  'Dobbs.'  " 

"Down  there,  on  old  Manhattan, 
Where  land-sharks  breed  and  fatten, 

They've  wiped  out  Tubby  Hook. 
That  famous  promontory, 
Renowned  in  song  and  story, 

Which  time  nor  tempest  shook, 
Whose  name  for  aye  had  been  good, 
Stands  newly  christened  'Inwood,' 

And  branded  with  the  shame 
Of  some  old  rogue  who  passes 
By  dint  of  aliases, 

Afraid  of  his  own  name! 

"See  how  they  quite  outrival, 
Plain  barn-yard  Spuyten-Duyvil, 
407 


APPENDIX 

"By  peacock  Riverdale, 
Which  thinks  all  else  it  conquers, 
And  over  homespun  Yonkers 

Spreads  out  its  flaunting  tail! 
There's  new-named  Mount  St.  Vincent, 
Where  each  dear  little  inn 'cent 

Is  taught  the  Popish  rites; 
Well,  ain't  it  queer,  wherever 
These  saints  possess  the  river 

They  get  the  finest  sites!" 

Mr.  Butler  very  often  wrote  verses  on  occasions  of  reunions 
and  birthday  celebrations  in  his  family.  Those  written  for 
the  children  were  very  bright  and  gay,  and  those  written  for 
meetings  of  older  members  of  the  family  were  singularly  grace 
ful.  One  of  the  children's  poems,  entitled  "  Somebody,"  con 
tains  the  following  verses,  a  good  illustration  of  his  style: 

"SOMEBODY" 

There's  a  meddlesome  "Somebody"  going  about, 
And  playing  his  pranks,  but  we  can't  find  him  out; 
He's  up-stairs  and  down-stairs  from  morning  till  night, 
And  always  in  mischief,  but  never  in  sight. 

The  rogues  I  have  read  of  in  song  or  in  tale 
Are  caught  at  the  end,  and  conducted  to  jail; 
But  "Somebody's"  tracks  are  all  covered  so  well 
He  never  has  seen  the  inside  of  a  cell. 

Our  young  folks  at  home  at  all  seasons  and  times 
Are  rehearsing  the  roll  of  "Somebody's"  crimes; 
Or  fast  as  their  feet  and  their  tongues  can  well  run, 
Come  to  tell  the  last  deed  the  sly  scamp  has  done. 

*  'Somebody'  has  taken  my  knife,"  one  will  say; 
'  'Somebody'  has  carried  my  pencil  away"; 

408 


APPENDIX 

'  'Somebody'  has  gone  and  thrown  down  all  the  blocks"; 
"  'Somebody'  ate  up  all  the  cakes  in  the  box."  * 

I  do  not  certainly  know  who  the  somebody  is  who  is 
referred  to  in  this  poem,  but  I  have  a  suspicion  that  the  ex 
traordinary  activity  and  energy  in  childhood  of  the  somebody 
there  described  was  the  source,  in  maturer  years,  of  that  ex 
cellent  book  for  which  our  profession  is  so  much  indebted  to 
one  of  the  members  of  this  Association,  on  "The  Treaty-Mak 
ing  Power  of  the  United  States." 

As  an  illustration  of  the  grace  and  charm  of  Mr.  Butler's 
graver  poems  on  family  occasions,  let  me  quote  a  verse  from 
"A  Golden  Wedding,"  a  poem  read  at  the  fiftieth  anniversary 
of  the  marriage  of  his  uncle,  Mr.  Charles  Butler: 

"Only  once  in  fifty  years 
The  Golden  Wedding  day  appears; 
Like  a  guest  from  far-off  lands, 
Knocking  at  the  door  he  stands. 

1  The  additional  verses  to  this  poem  are  here  given. — ED. 

It  is  "Somebody"  breaks  all  the  pitchers  and  plates, 
And  hides  the  boys'  sleds  and  runs  off  with  their  skates, 
And  turns  on  the  water  and  tumbles  the  beds, 
And  steals  all  the  pins  and  melts  all  the  dolls'  heads. 

One  night  a  dull  sound,  like  the  thump  of  a  head, 
Announced  that  one  youngster  was  out  of  his  bed; 
And  he  said,  half  asleep,  when  asked  what  it  meant, 
"  'Somebody'  is  pushing  me  out  of  the  tent!" 

Now,  if  these  high  crimes  of  "Somebody"  don't  cease, 
We  must  summon  in  the  detective  police; 
And  they,  in  their  wisdom,  at  once  will  make  known 
The  culprit  belongs  to  no  house  but  our  own. 

And  should  it  turn  out  after  all  to  be  true 
That  our  young  folks  themselves  are  "Somebody,"  too, 
How  queer  it  would  look  if  we  saw  them  all  go, 
Marched  off  to  the  station-house,  six  in  a  row! 

409 


APPENDIX 

Ah!   how  few  the  happy  homes 
Where  his  tardy  footstep  comes: 
Ah!   how  few  can  watch  and  wait 
For  a  guest  who  comes  so  late. 
Tears  are  on  his  wrinkled  cheek — 
Some  are  gone  he  fain  would  seek; 
Smiles  are  on  his  happy  face — 
All  the  living  to  embrace; 
Give  him  welcome,  warm  and  bright, 
For  he  tarries  but  a  night, 
With  glad  songs  and  garlands  gay, 
Hail  the  Golden  Wedding  day." 

"Golden  in  the  hopes  whose  light 
Makes  life's  evening  calm  and  bright; 
Here  are  home's  endearing  charms, 
Love's  encircling,  sheltering  arms; 
All  that  best  old  age  attends — 
'Honor,  love  and  troops  of  friends,' 
Yet  the  brightest  prospect  lies 
Past  the  bound  of  earthly  skies; 
Home  still  fairer,  love  more  fond, 
Blessings  here  and  bliss  beyond!" 

Twenty-five  years  after  this,  in  1900,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Butler 
celebrated  their  own  golden  wedding,  on  which  occasion  Mr. 
Butler  wrote  a  poem  entitled  "Pactolus,"  likening  the  bless 
ings  they  had  received  to  the  golden  river  of  Croesus,  but  giv 
ing  its  source  "in  the  blessing  of  the  Lord." 

Many  of  his  references  to  the  profession  of  the  law  in  his 
humorous  verse  are  very  apposite  and  clever. 

One  of  the  best  definitions  of  General  Average  which  I 
know  of  is  contained  in  his  poem  with  that  title: 

"Thus,  circled  with  perils,  ship,  cargo  and  freight, 
Involved  in  one  common  adventure  and  fate. 
410 


APPENDIX 

Where  disaster  befalls,  'tis  equal  and  fair 

That  all  the  full  burden  of  rescue  should  bear, 

Each  paying  its  just  and  proportionate  share, 

Which  joint  contribution,  on  this  equal  scale, 

Is  called  'General  Average,'  whence  hangs  our  tale." 

In  his  poem  of  "Two  Millions"  there  is  a  description  of  a 
man  of  great  wealth  who  is  found  in  a  fit  and  is  supposed  to 
be  dead.  He  held  convulsively  clutched  in  each  hand  por 
tions  of  his  will,  which  he  had  torn  in  two.  The  question 
immediately  arose  whether  he  had  annulled  his  will  by  inten 
tionally  destroying  it,  or  it  had  been  unintentionally  torn  by 
an  involuntary  convulsive  action  when  he  was  seized  with  the 
attack.  A  lawyer  is  consulted. 

"Straight  on  the  lawyer's  clear,  prophetic  sight, 
The  Firkin  Will  Case  rises  into  light, 
Latest  and  greatest  of  the  famous  causes, 
About  last  wills,  their  codicils  and  clauses. 
He  sees  the  eager  birds  of  prey  who  wait, 
Around  the  carcass  of  the  huge  estate, 
In  the  dim  chambers  of  the  Surrogate; 
Three  bulky  quartos  stuffed  with  the  proceedings, 
Ten  leading  lawyers  crammed  with  special  pleadings; 
A  hundred  witnesses  on  either  side, 
With  cross-examinations  scarified; 
And  twenty  doctors,  portly  and  persistent, 
With  twenty  theories,  all  inconsistent! 
But,  fairest  sight  of  all,  besides,  he  sees 
A  princely  revenue  of  costs  and  fees, 
No  risk  of  loss,  no  client  to  be  dunned, 
All  the  expenses  charged  upon  the  Fund!" 

Mr.  Butler's  prose  works  were  quite  inconsiderable  in 
comparison  with  his  poetry.  He  wrote  a  bright  little  story, 

411 


APPENDIX 

full  of  wit,  entitled  "Mrs.  Limber's  Raffle,"  showing  that  an 
ordinary  church  raffle  is  a  clear  violation  of  the  laws  of  this 
State.  He  also  wrote  a  novel  called  "  Domesticus."  This 
book  contains  many  bright  passages,  but  upon  the  whole  was 
not  very  successful.  The  plot  partly  hinges  on  the  difficulties 
of  domestic  service  in  this  country,  a  subject  which,  it  must  be 
admitted,  in  this  book,  as  in  ladies'  conversations,  is  sometimes 
deficient  in  interest.  Several  of  his  public  addresses  have 
been  published.  One  of  them  on  "The  Relations  Between 
Lawyer  and  Client"  is  a  most  admirable  statement  of  the 
rules  of  professional  ethics  growing  out  of  that  relation.  An 
other  on  "The  Bible  By  Itself"  is  an  earnest  appeal  for  the 
more  thorough  and  general  study  of  the  Bible. 

Mr.  Butler  had  an  extraordinary  memory,  not  only  for 
facts,  but  for  the  exact  language  of  long  passages  in  poetry 
or  prose.  On  one  occasion  he  wrote  out  a  funeral  sermon 
which  he  had  heard  so  accurately  that  the  clergyman  who  de 
livered  it,  and  to  whom  it  was  submitted  for  revision,  stated 
that  he  had  no  corrections  or  alterations  to  suggest. 

When  Mr.  Butler  was  a  young  man  he  once  attended  one 
of  Mr.  Samuel  Rogers'  famous  literary  breakfasts  in  London. 
Mr.  George  Bancroft,  the  historian,  who  was  all  his  life  an 
intimate  friend  of  Mr.  Butler,  was  present.  At  that  break 
fast  Mr.  Rogers  recited  to  his  guests  an  unpublished  poem. 
After  leaving,  Mr.  Butler  accompanied  Mr.  Bancroft  to  his 
home,  and  after  arriving  there,  Mr.  Bancroft  expressed  a  wish 
that  he  had  a  copy  of  the  verses  which  they  had  just  heard. 
"Then  take  your  pencil,"  said  Mr.  Butler,  and  he  thereupon 
dictated  to  Mr.  Bancroft  the  entire  poem  correctly. 

Nearly  fifty  years  later,  at  a  dinner  at  Mr.  Bancroft's  house 
in  Washington,  at  which  Mr.  Butler  was  present,  Mr.  Bancroft 
told  this  story  as  affording  a  remarkable  exhibition  of  the 
power  of  memory,  and,  turning  to  Mr.  Butler,  asked  him  if  he 

412 


APPENDIX 

remembered  the  incident.  Mr.  Butler  replied,  "Yes,  I  re 
member  the  incident  and  I  remember  the  poem,  too,"  and  he 
thereupon  proceeded  to  recite  the  entire  poem  again. 

His  marvelous  memory  remained  unimpaired  to  the  end  of 
his  life.  The  last  poem  which  he  wrote  was  in  April,  1902, 
on  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  church  in  Yonkers,  of  which 
for  many  years  he  was  a  member.  When  he  composed  this 
poem  he  had  become  substantially  blind.  It  contains  one 
hundred  and  thirty-three  lines.  It  was  written  down  from  his 
dictation,  and,  when  finished,  was  read  over  to  him  a  few 
times,  and  he  delivered  it  himself  at  the  church  meeting,  en 
tirely  from  memory,  without  the  slightest  break  or  hesita 
tion,  never  having  seen,  and  being  entirely  unable  to  see,  the 
words. 

Of  Mr.  Butler  as  a  man  and  citizen,  it  would  be  difficult 
to  speak  too  highly.  In  the  year  1865  he  removed  to  Yonkers, 
where  he  always  afterwards  resided.  He  took  a  deep  interest 
in  all  good  causes  in  Yonkers,  and  was  for  many  years  recog 
nized  as  the  leading  citizen  of  the  place.  He  made  addresses 
on  almost  all  important  public  occasions  in  Yonkers,  and  his 
speeches  were  always  of  marked  distinction  and  elevation  of 
tone.  Among  the  most  notable  were  those  delivered  at  the 
opening  of  the  Music  Hall  and  at  the  opening  of  the  Woman's 
Institute,  in  which  institution  Mr.  Butler  was  very  deeply  in 
terested  and  to  which  he  made  large  gifts  of  money. 

Mr.  Butler  was  a  man  of  the  widest  and  deepest  sym 
pathy  with  suffering  and  wretchedness  of  every  kind.  He  was 
especially  impressed  by  the  misery  of  the  very  poor  in  the 
great  cities.  Nearly  fifty  years  before  the  recent  tenement 
legislation  in  this  State  was  adopted  some  of  the  noblest  pas 
sages  in  Mr.  Butler's  poetry  denounced  the  New  York  tene 
ment  house.  Many  of  you  will  remember  the  splendid  pas 
sage  near  the  end  of  "Nothing  to  Wear." 

413 


APPENDIX 

"O  ladies,  dear  ladies,  the  next  sunny  day 
Please  trundle  your  hoops  just  out  of  Broadway, 
From  its  whirl  and  its  bustle,  its  fashion  and  pride, 
And  the  temples  of  Trade  which  tower  on  each  side, 
To  the  alleys  and  lanes,  where  Misfortune  and  Guilt 
Their  children  have  gathered,  their  city  have  built; 
Where  Hunger  and  Vice,  like  twin  beasts  of  prey, 
Have  hunted  their  victims  to  gloom  and  despair; 
Raise  the  rich,  dainty  dress,  and  the  fine  broidered  skirt, 
Pick  your  delicate  way  through  the  dampness  and  dirt, 
Grope  through  the  dark  dens,  climb  the  rickety  stair 
To  the  garret,  where  wretches,  the  young  and  the  old, 
Half  starved  and  half  naked,  lie  crouched  from  the  cold; 
See  those  skeleton  limbs,  those  frost-bitten  feet, 
All  bleeding  and  bruised  by  the  stones  of  the  street; 
Hear  the  sharp  cry  of  childhood,  the  deep  groans  that  swell 
From  the  poor  dying  creature  who  writhes  on  the  floor; 
Hear  the  curses  that  sound  like  the  echoes  of  Hell, 
As  you  sicken  and  shudder  and  fly  from  the  door; 
Then  home  to  your  wardrobes,  and  say,  if  you  dare — 
Spoiled  children  of  fashion — you've  nothing  to  wear!" 

Equally  noble  are  the  lines  on  the  same  theme  from  "Two 
Millions,"  written  in  1858. 

"The  Tenement  House,  o'er  which,  with  friendly  hand, 
Modern  Improvement  waves  no  magic  wand, 
With  half-cracked  walls  and  windows  all  askew, 
Stamped  with  the  blight  of  beggary  through  and  through, 
Lintel  and  door-post  sprinkled  with  its  sign, 
House  after  house  extends  the  dismal  line! 
A  dreary  sight  to  philanthropic  eyes, 
Between  the  gutter  and  the  distant  skies, 
By  filth  and  noisome  odors  marked  and  tracked, 
Through  the  dense  districts  where  the  poor  are  packed, 
Crowded  and  swarming  in  those  wretched  hives, 

414 


APPENDIX 

Layer  on  layer  of  cheap  human  lives! 

Or,  if  you  think  the  picture  overdone, 

Go  for  yourself,  if  you  have  never  gone; 

Go  in  midwinter,  when  the  drifting  sleet 

Through  the  bare  hall  pursues  your  freezing  feet, 

And,  as  from  room  to  room  you  hurry  past, 

The  crazy  building  rattling  in  the  blast, 

At  doors  ajar  gaunt  faces  peep  and  glare, 

In  hopes  some  friendly  step  may  linger  there. 

Go  in  midsummer,  when  the  August  rays 

Pour  on  the  place  their  fierce,  untempered  blaze: 

From  the  scorched  pavement  to  the  sun-struck  eaves, 

No  point  of  shade  the  flaming  mass  relieves; 

And  the  hot  air,  with  rank  and  poisoned  breath, 

Through  doors  and  windows  puffs  disease  and  death." 

This  feeling  of  the  need  of  reform  in  tenement  house  con 
struction  never  left  him. 

In  the  last  poem  he  ever  wrote,  in  1902,  in  answering  the 
question,  "What  Needs  the  Church  To-Day?"  he  states, 
among  other  things,  that  it  should 

"Share  the  toil  where  civic  virtue  strives 
For  better  laws  and  homes  and  nobler  lives." 

Mr.  Butler  was  a  Republican  in  politics  all  his  life,  and 
at  almost  every  presidential  election  he  made  a  speech  in 
Yonkers  on  the  political  issues  of  the  election.  These  speeches 
were  usually  published.  They  were  characterized  by  a  distinc 
tion  of  style  and  a  nobility  of  thought  which  gave  them  rank 
among  the  finest  political  addresses  of  his  time.  He  never 
filled  any  political  or  judicial  office,  and  it  is  a  subject  of  sincere 
regret  that  a  man  so  highly  qualified  to  render  valuable  ser 
vices  in  such  capacities  should  have  been  left,  through  a  long 
life  in  this  State,  without  being  called  into  the  public  service. 

415 


APPENDIX 

It  is  natural,  in  the  memorials  of  members  of  this  Associa 
tion,  to  err  on  the  side  of  eulogy.  But  Mr.  Butler's  life  and 
character  were  so  praiseworthy  that  it  is  difficult  to  speak  of 
them  with  due  reserve.  He  was  a  perfect  gentleman.  His 
clear-cut,  intellectual  face,  like  a  Greek  cameo,  and  his  whole 
bearing,  always  gave  the  impression  both  of  power  and  of 
distinction.  He  was  a  man  of  wide  cultivation,  and  of  taste 
for  all  graceful  and  beautiful  things.  He  had  an  unusually 
affectionate  and  domestic  nature.  He  was  very  fond  of  his 
family,  his  relations,  his  friends,  his  home,  his  books.  Even 
the  bitter  trial  which  befell  him  in  the  last  few  years  of  his 
life,  in  the  loss  of  his  eyesight,  did  not  affect  the  unvarying 
serenity,  and  sweetness  of  his  character.  He  had,  without 
ostentation,  a  deeply  reverent  and  devotional  nature.  This 
is  particularly  shown  in  his  serious  poetry  which  is  almost 
always  tinged  with  a  deep  religious  feeling.  In  short,  in  all 
the  relations  of  life,  he  was  a  man  entitled  to  the  highest 
admiration. 

In  estimating  his  actual  rank  as  a  lawyer  and  as  a  literary 
man,  it  may  probably  he  admitted  that  there  were  a  few  law 
yers  of  his  time  of  greater  eminence,  and  a  few  literary  men 
of  his  time  of  greater  reputation,  but  I  think  it  is  an  entirely 
accurate  statement  to  assert  that  no  man  of  his  time,  either  in 
England  or  America,  held  an  equally  high  rank,  both  as  a 
lawyer  and  a  literary  man. 


416 


MEMORIAL   PROCEEDINGS   IN  THE 
SUPREME  COURT 

At  a  session  of  the  Supreme  Court,  Appellate  Division, 
First  Department,  held  in  the  Court  House  in  the  County  of 
New  York,  on  Wednesday,  October  22,  1902,  there  being 
present  Justices  Van  Brunt,  Patterson,  Ingraham,  Hatch  and 
Laughlin,  the  following  memorial  was  presented  and  read  be 
fore  the  Court  by  Mr.  John  E.  Parsons: 

WILLIAM  ALLEN  BUTLER,  the  son  of  Benjamin  Franklin 
Butler,  was  born  at  Albany,  on  February  2oth,  1825,  and  died 
at  Yonkers  on  September  Qth,  1902.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1846,  and  his  active  professional  career,  if  it  should  be 
considered  as  having  terminated  before  his  death,  covered  a 
period  considerably  longer  than  half  a  century. 

Mr.  Butler  began  the  practice  of  the  law  with  the  ad 
vantage  and  the  peril  of  a  professional  association  with  a 
great  Lawyer — his  father,  whose  name  and  fame  as  a  lawyer 
and  as  an  advocate,  still  are  and  long  will  be  remembered. 
If  such  a  reputation  is  inheritable,  it  is  a  burden  or  a  benefit 
to  the  heir,  according  to  his  capacity  to  administer  the  suc 
cession.  Mr.  Butler's  career  at  this  Bar  may  be  summed  up  by 
the  statement  that  his  death  left  it  undiminished. 

Such  a  memorial  as  this  has  for  its  purpose  a  record  of 
character,  and  a  tribute  of  respect,  and  not  a  narrative  of  in 
cidents.  Mr.  Butler's  life,  indeed,  is  conspicuous,  not  for 
striking  events,  but  for  a  steady  and  continuous  labor  in  an 
absorbing  profession,  and  an  equally  steady  and  continuous 
flow  of  consequent  reputation  and  prosperity.  The  grace- 

417 


APPENDIX 

ful  style,  the  poetic  fancy,  and  the  brilliant  wit  which  were 
among  his  native  gifts,  and  which  were  effective  professional 
weapons  in  his  hands,  certainly  served  him  also  for  his  own 
pleasure  and  that  of  others  in  moments  of  diversion;  but  by 
those  who  have  known  him  at  the  Bar  it  will  unhesitatingly 
be  acknowledged  that  his  life  work  did  not  differ  in  character, 
if  it  did  in  the  degree  of  prosperity  and  reputation  by  which 
it  was  deservedly  rewarded,  from  that  of  any  successful  law 
yer,  charged  with  the  responsibility  of  affairs  of  great  impor 
tance  and  constantly  absorbed  in  the  exacting  labor  of  adviser 
and  advocate. 

A  reference  to  a  few  of  the  important  cases  in  which  Mr. 
Butler  was  engaged  will  serve  as  evidence  of  his  rank  in  the 
profession. 

In  the  case  of  The  Steamer  Pennsylvania  (19  Wall,  126) 
Mr.  Butler  was  successful  in  obtaining  a  reversal  by  the  Su 
preme  Court  of  the  United  States  of  the  decrees  both  of  the 
Circuit  and  District  Courts,  which  had  followed  decisions  of 
the  English  Admiralty  Court,  and  of  the  Privy  Council.  This 
decision  conclusively  settled  the  doctrine  in  collision  cases, 
that  a  vessel  violating  a  rule  of  navigation  laid  down  by  Statute, 
must  prove  affirmatively  that  such  violation  could  not  have 
contributed  to  the  disaster.  The  decision  has  been  repeatedly 
cited  and  followed,  and  has  been  of  immense  value  in  induc 
ing  compliance  with  the  provisions  of  the  Statutes. 

In  The  Scotland  (105  U.  S.,  24),  where  Mr.  Butler  was 
again  successful  in  spite  of  adverse  decisions  below,  the  Su 
preme  Court  of  the  United  States  established  the  rule  that 
owners  of  foreign  Vessels  may  obtain  the  benefit  of  our  Stat 
utes  for  the  limitation  of  liability  of  owners  of  Vessels  for 
disasters  on  the  high  seas. 

In  Sturgis  v.  Spofford  (45  N.  Y.,  446)  Mr.  Butler  success 
fully  maintained  the  constitutionality  of  the  Law  of  1853, 

418 


APPENDIX 

establishing  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Pilots;  and  in  Peo 
ple  v.  Vanderbilt  (26  N.  Y.,  286)  he  obtained  an  assertion  of 
the  power  of  that  board  to  prevent  encroachments  upon  the 
priblic  piers  and  in  the  Harbor  of  New  York. 

Other  important  cases  argued  by  Mr.  Butler  were  Union 
Trust  Co.  v.  New  York,  Chicago  &  St.  Louis  R.R.,  involving 
the  validity  of  the  bonds  and  mortgage  of  the  defendant  com 
pany;  Rich  v.  New  York  Central  R.  R.  (87  N.  Y.,  383),  and 
(154  N.  Y.,  733),  involving  novel  questions  as  to  liability  for 
tort  arising  from  non-performance  of  contract;  The  Chicago 
Gas  Trust  Reorganization  case,  where  the  legality  of  the  plan 
of  reorganization  was  sustained  against  the  opinion  of  a 
majority  of  leading  Lawyers  of  Chicago;  Fifth  Avenue  Bank 
vs.  Colgate  (120  N.  Y.,  381),  involving  novel  questions  affecting 
liability  under  the  Special  Partnership  Act;  Stevenson  v. 
Brooklyn  R.  R.  (114  U.  S.,  149),  a  case  on  patent  Law;  Liver 
pool  &  London  &  Globe  Insurance  Co.  v.  Gunther  (116 
U.  S.,  115),  involving  interesting  questions  in  the  Law  of  Fire 
Insurance;  the  Legal  Tender  case  of  Juillard  v.  Greeman  (no 
U.  S.,  421),  and  the  famous  case  of  Hoyt  v.  Sprague  (103  U. 
S.,  613),  involving  intricate  questions  of  partnership  Law. 

A  just  appreciation  of  Mr.  Butler's  thorough  and  general 
attainments  in  our  many-sided  science  precludes,  however,  the 
ascription  to  him  of  superior  attainments  in  any  one  of  its 
branches.  In  the  law  of  admiralty,  of  insurance,  of  real  es 
tate,  of  wills  and  testamentary  trusts,  of  corporations  and 
banking,  as  in  other  branches  which  are  sometimes  considered 
specialties,  he  was  a  master,  but  he  had  too  many  specialties  to 
be  considered  a  specialist. 

So  again  Mr.  Butler  was  too  sound  and  sagacious  an  ad 
viser  in  his  office,  too  brilliant  and  successful  an  advocate  in 
the  Courts  to  be  permitted  to  devote  himself  exclusively  to 
one  or  the  other  of  the  two  main  divisions  of  the  profession. 

419 


APPENDIX 

Perhaps  the  most  effective  work,  however,  was  as  an  advocate 
and  especially  in  the  Appellate  Courts,  where  his  deep  knowl 
edge  of  the  law,  his  phenomenal  memory,  his  remarkable 
powers  of  elucidation  and  illustration  of  legal  principles,  and 
his  temperate  and  almost  judicial  attitude  of  mind,  were  most 
effectively  brought  into  play. 

But  such  talents  as  these,  though  always  compelling  ad 
miration,  would  not  alone  command  the  grateful  respect 
which  it  is  sought  here  to  record.  It  is  a  conspicuous  pattern 
of  the  noble  qualities  of  professional  character  that  he  should 
be  described  and  remembered.  That  his  integrity  was  spot 
less,  his  veracity  undeviating,  is  hardly  to  be  remarked;  but 
it  is  remarkable  that  in  him  they  appeared  to  be  spontaneous 
and  instinctive,  to  be  of  the  inward  essence  of  the  man. 
Among  the  fruits  of  these  fundamental  qualities  were  candor 
and  fairness  in  the  statement  both  of  facts  and  principles, 
courtesy  and  generosity  to  his  adversaries,  and  his  reward, 
in  the  confidence  and  affection  of  Bench  and  Bar,  was  as 
ample  as  deserved. 

The  rank  accorded  to  Mr.  Butler  by  his  professional 
brethren  is  evidenced  by  his  having  served  as  President  of  the 
American  Bar  Association  in  1885-1886,  and  as  President  of 
the  Association  of  the  Bar  of  the  City  of  New  York  in  the  years 
1887  and  1888. 

No  complete  view  of  Mr.  Butler  could  be  made  without  a 
reference  to  his  character  as  a  man  and  a  Citizen.  Evidence 
on  these  matters  can  best  be  found  in  the  community  in  which 
a  man  has  dwelt.  For  the  last  thirty-seven  years  of  his  life 
Mr.  Butler  was  a  resident  of  Yonkers.  All  the  best  elements 
in  the  development  of  this  Village,  Town  and  City,  in  which 
he  lived  and  whose  growth  he  watched,  were  of  keen  interest 
to  Mr.  Butler  and  were  generously  fostered  by  him.  As  a  de 
voted  member  of  one  of  its  largest  churches,  as  the  chief  founder 

420 


APPENDIX 

of  a  free  reading  room,  which  until  other  instrumentalities 
superseded  it,  was  of  great  benefit  to  the  poorer  classes;  as  a 
large  contributor  in  work  and  money  to  the  building  up  of 
the  Woman's  Institute  for  the  benefit  of  working  women,  one 
of  the  most  successful  Institutions  of  the  City,  as  the  wise 
adviser  of  one  of  its  hospitals,  and  in  many  other  ways,  Mr. 
Butler  showed  his  public  spirit.  While  taking  no  prominent 
part  in  party  management,  he  never  failed  on  occasion  to  coun 
sel  his  fellow-citizens  upon  public  questions  on  the  plat 
form  and  through  the  press,  and  no  opinions  were  listened  to 
with  more  respect  or  carried  greater  weight.  His  views  in 
council  were  sought  upon  a  great  variety  of  subjects  affect 
ing  the  common  welfare,  and  his  influence,  founded  upon  the 
confidence  of  the  community  in  his  high  character,  public 
spirit,  fair  and  sound  judgment,  has  for  a  generation  been 
widely  felt. 

Nor  was  Mr.  Butler's  public  spirit  and  usefulness  unfelt 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  where  he  was  constantly  connected 
with  important  philanthropic  work.  He  was,  for  instance,  an 
active  member  for  many  years,  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the 
Lenox  Library,  and,  after  its  consolidation  with  the  Astor 
and  Tilden  Libraries,  and  until  his  death,  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  the  New  York  Public  Library. 

Mr.  Butler's  life,  and  that  of  his  distinguished  father, 
cover  a  period  which  connects  the  present  with  the  far  differ 
ent  kind  of  professional  life  and  work  in  the  early  years  of 
the  past  century.  During  the  many  years  which  he  devoted 
to  his  profession  he  was  a  marked  figure.  It  is  no  disparage 
ment  of  others  to  say  that  from  the  beginning  his  position  was 
in  the  very  front  rank.  Following  upon  the  renown  which  by 
his  name  he  inherited,  his  position  might  in  a  special  sense 
be  described  as  unique.  The  members  of  his  profession  have 
thought  that  in  his  case  it  was  exceptionally  suitable  that  there 

42I 


APPENDIX 

should  be  inscribed  upon  the  records  of  the  Court  some  refer 
ence  to  his  career,  and  the  due  expressions  of  regret,  when  at 
last,  full  of  years  and  honor,  he  passed  away. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  John  E.  Parsons' s  reading  of  the 
memorial,  Presiding  Justice  Van  Brunt  addressed  the  Bar  as 
follows: 

It  was  with  great  regret  that  we  learned  last  summer  of  the 
death  of  Mr.  Butler.  He  was  one  of  the  few  remaining  links 
which  connect  the  past  with  the  present  and  the  old  with  the 
new.  He  commenced  his  study  of  the  law  at  a  time  when  its 
practice  required  some  accuracy  and  precision.  He  served  his 
novitiate  at  a  time  when  the  counsel  filing  his  declaration  was 
compelled  to  know  whether  he  desired  to  recover  upon  a 
promissory  note  or  for  conversion.  The  analysis  which  the 
counsel  was  then  required  to  make  of  the  case  which  was 
presented  before  him  stood  Mr.  Butler  in  good  stead  during 
the  whole  of  his  career.  There  was  one  feature  in  his  presen 
tation  of  his  cases  to  the  Court  which  always  struck  me  as 
being  exceedingly  remarkable,  and  I  know  of  none  that  ex 
celled  him  in  that  regard  and  few  that  equalled  him.  He 
evidently  had  prepared  his  cases  with  great  care,  had  studied 
them  in  all  the  lights  to  which  they  were  subject,  and  he  was 
enabled  to  state  all  the  facts  of  the  case  clearly,  accurately  and 
with  precision,  being  careful  not  to  leave  out  those  which 
might  tend  against  the  view  which  he  desired  to  enforce  upon 
the  Court.  So  that  when  he  had  gotten  through  with  his 
statement  of  the  case  the  Court  might  feel  confident  that  they 
were  possessed  of  all  the  facts  which  were  necessary  to  apply 
the  principles  which  he  would  then  seek  to  lay  before  the 
Court.  I  regret  to  say  that  our  experience  of  today  shows 
that  his  example  has  been  rarely  followed  in  that  particular. 

422 


APPENDIX 

And  I  have  often  thought  that  probably  the  reasons  why  he 
was  so  happy  in  that  regard,  arose  from  the  fact  of  his  early 
education,  at  a  time,  as  I  have  already  said,  when  some  pre 
cision  and  accuracy  were  required  on  the  part  of  the  counsel 
in  respect  to  the  features  of  the  case  upon  which  he  expected 
to  succeed. 

The  memorial  expresses  very  aptly  and  happily  the  position 
which  Mr.  Butler  occupied  at  the  Bar;  and  all  its  suggestions 
are  fully  concurred  in  by  the  Court.  They  think  it  is  eminently 
proper  that  the  memorial  should  be  spread  upon  the  minutes 
of  the  Court  as  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Butler,  and  they 
make  that  direction.  The  memorial  will  accordingly  be  in 
scribed  upon  the  minutes  of  the  Court  with  a  memorandum  of 
the  proceedings  of  this  meeting. 


423 


MEMORIAL  PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  DISTRICT 
COURT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

At  a  session  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for 
the  Southern  District  of  New  York,  held  on  October  28,  1902, 
in  the  court  rooms  in  the  City  of  New  York,  Mr.  Robert  D. 
Benedict  addressed  the  Court  as  follows: 

May  it  please  the  Court. 

A  memorial  of  William  Allen  Butler,  recently  deceased,  was 
presented  to  the  Appellate  Division  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
this  Department  on  the  twenty-second  instant  on  behalf  of 
the  Bar  and  was  ordered  by  that  Court  to  be  recorded  in  its 
minutes. 

It  has  been  thought  appropriate  that  in  view  of  the  emi 
nence  of  Mr.  Butler  in  Admiralty  a  memorial  should  be  pre 
sented  to  the  Admiralty  Court  also  which  should  speak  of  him 
as  an  Admiralty  lawyer. 

And  on  behalf  of  the  Admiralty  Bar  the  Court  is  now  re 
quested  to  receive  the  following  Memorial  and  to  order  that  it 
may  be  placed  upon  the  files  of  the  Court  and  recorded  in  its 
minutes. 

MEMORIAL 

On  September  9,  1902,  died  William  Allen  Butler,  who  was 
admitted  to  the  Bar  of  this  Court  on  January  5,  1848.  For  a 
large  part  of  the  fifty  years  of  his  membership  of  the  Bar  of 
this  Court  he  was  active  in  the  Admiralty  practice,  and  he 
took  part  in  many  of  the  important  cases  which  have  come 
before  our  Admiralty  Courts.  It  would  take  too  long  to  give 

424 


APPENDIX 

details  of  even  the  more  important  of  these  cases.  But  two 
cases  may  well  be  mentioned,  from  which  Mr.  Butler  obtained 
the  fame  which  belongs  to  successful  counsel  in  cases  of  great 
national  importance. 

One  was  the  case  of  the  steamer  Pennsylvania,  in  which 
Mr.  Butler  obtained  from  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  a  reversal,  not  only  of  the  decree  of  both  the  Circuit 
and  District  Courts,  but  also  of  the  English  Admiralty  Court 
and  Privy  Council,  whose  decisions  had  been  followed  by  our 
lower  courts.  The  decision  in  that  case  established  upon  an 
immovable  foundation  the  doctrine  in  reference  to  collision  of 
vessels,  that,  as  to  matters  which  are  governed  by  statute,  if 
either  vessel  which  has  been  in  collision  has  violated  such 
express  provision,  the  burden  is  upon  her  to  establish  that 
such  violation  could  not  have  in  any  way  contributed  to  the 
disaster,  a  decision  of  immense  importance  in  ensuring  com 
pliance  by  navigators  with  the  provisions  of  that  statute. 

The  other  case  was  the  case  of  The  Scotland,  in  which 
Mr.  Butler  won  again  the  success  in  the  United  States  Su 
preme  Court  of  reversing  the  decisions  of  the  two  lower  courts. 
That  case  established  the  rule  that  the  owners  of  foreign  ves 
sels  may  obtain  the  benefits  of  the  limitations  of  liability, 
created  by  the  statutes  of  this  country,  in  reference  to  disas 
ters  occurring  to  their  vessels  on  the  high  seas,  a  decision 
whose  far-reaching  extent  can  hardly  be  exaggerated. 

It  may  be  added,  to  show  the  importance  of  these  two  de 
cisions,  that  the  case  of  the  Pennsylvania  has  been  cited  more 
than  seventy  times,  and  the  case  of  the  Scotland  more  than 
eighty  times,  by  the  courts,  in  their  decisions  involving  similar 
questions. 

Mr.  Butler's  knowledge  of  the  Admiralty  law  and  its  prin 
ciples  was  large.  Nor  was  it  confined  to  the  questions  which 
more  frequently  arise.  He  extended  his  researches  into  less 

425 


APPENDIX 

familiar  regions  of  the  law.  His  poem  on  General  Average 
shows  not  only  his  research  but  also  his  quick  sense  of  the 
humorous  elements  which  may  be  found  here  and  there,  even 
in  the  consideration  of  legal  matters. 

It  was  not,  however,  to  such  nugae  canorae  that  Mr.  Butler 
attributed  importance.  He  said  once  to  a  friend,  when  his 
poem  of  "Nothing  to  Wear"  had  been  mentioned,  "Is  it  not 
pitiful  that  such  a  trivial  thing  as  that  should  be  more  widely 
known,  and  give  to  its  author  a  more  extended  reputation, 
ofttimes,  than  he  receives  from  works  to  which  he  has  given 
the  full  exercise  of  his  best  powers  ?" 

Nor  will  we  dwell  upon  such  light  trifles.  His  clear  per 
ception  of  principles,  his  acute  and  powerful  reasoning,  and, 
above  all,  his  fairness  and  courtesy  as  an  advocate,  will  always 
entitle  him  to  a  high  place  among  the  great  lawyers  of  the 
Admiralty,  and  to  the  pleasantest  of  memories  among  his 
fellows  of  the  Admiralty  Bar. 

The  passing  away  of  one  so  prominent  for  so  long  a  time 
should  be  noted,  and  an  expression  given  to  our  feelings  of  re 
spect  for  him  and  regret  for  our  loss.  We  therefore  request 
the  Court  to  order  this  brief  notice,  all  too  unsatisfactory  though 
it  be,  to  be  filed  in  the  Records,  and  entered  upon  the  Minutes 
of  the  Court. 


426 


ADDRESS  IN  THE  COURT  OF  APPEALS 

On  the  presentation  of  the  portrait  of  William  Allen  Butler 
at  Albany,  New  York,  March  20,  1911,  the  following  address 
was  made  by  Alton  B.  Parker,  formerly  the  Chief  Judge  of  the 
Court: 

If  the  Court  please  to  permit  it,  I  will  appropriate  a  few  min 
utes  before  the  calendar  is  taken  up,  trusting  that  my  subject 
will  insure  to  my  words  a  patient  hearing  and  to  me  pardon  for 
the  theft  of  time. 

It  is  my  honor  and  pleasure  to  present,  on  behalf  of  Mrs. 
William  Allen  Butler,  to  the  Court,  a  portrait  of  her  husband, 
the  late  William  Allen  Butler,  painted  by  his  son,  Howard  Rus 
sell  Butler.  Skill  and  love  have  wrought  so  wonderfully  well 
that  from  this  canvas  William  Allen  Butler  his  very  self  seems 
to  look  out  upon  us  with  the  old  dignity  and  kindliness.  The 
portrait  is  indeed  faithfully  true  to  the  original.  'The  end  has 
crowned  the  work;  the  high  endeavor  and  the  long  toil,  with  full 
success  are  blest." 

William  Allen  Butler  was  born  in  this  city,  February  20, 
1825.  The  career  of  his  father,  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  distin 
guished  lawyer  and  statesman,  carried  the  son  during  his  boy 
hood  to  Washington  and  later  to  New  York,  where  he  was  edu 
cated  at  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York,  studied  law  in 
his  father's  office  and  came  to  the  Bar  in  1846.  From  that  year 
until  his  death,  fifty-six  years  later,  he  was  continuously  en 
gaged  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

Much  of  his  professional  work  was  Admiralty  practice,  but 
his  large  general  practice  brought  him  as  an  advocate  constantly 

427 


APPENDIX 

before  the  other  Federal  and  State  Courts,  and  many  leading 
cases  in  this  Court  and  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  were 
briefed  and  argued  by  him.  Argument  and  advice  from  him 
were  ever  authoritative  and  clarifying.  He  was  loyal  always  to 
his  clients,  fair  to  his  opponents,  profound  in  his  reverence  for 
legal  tribunals  and  decisions,  and  exceptionally  courteous  to 
the  striplings  of  the  bar. 

Turning  from  the  professional  to  the  more  personal  side  of 
the  man,  we  find  him  cultured,  fond  of  refined  society,  travel, 
books  and  art,  cordially  sympathetic  with  poverty  and  suffering, 
keenly  fond  and  appreciative  of  childhood.  We  know  him  as 
a  husband  and  father  who  loved  his  home  and  family  before 
all  things,  as  a  poet  whose  rhythmic  periods  cling  to  the  memory 
and  whose  graceful  humor  is  an  inexhaustible  pleasure,  as  a  citi 
zen  who  was  at  once  an  enthusiastic  partisan  and  a  good  patriot. 

In  other  lands  such  culture,  ability  and  good  citizenship 
would  have  been  emphasized  by  the  royal  gift  of  a  title.  In 
this  country,  where  every  man  is  a  prince  of  the  blood  royal, 
sovereign  people  have  conferred  upon  William  Allen  Butler 
that  fond  regard  and  respect  reserved  for  the  few — the  aristo 
crats  of  our  regal  Republic,  men  of  pre-eminent  talent,  lofty 
character,  pure  ideals,  fearless  truth  and  unselfish  life.  "And 
with  theirs  his  loved  name  shall  be  honored  and  sung." 

On  September  9,  1902,  William  Allen  Butler  crossed  the 
bar  and  dropped  anchor  in  the  shimmer  of  the  harbor  lights  of 
the  City  of  Promise. 

"Where  all  is  made  right  which  so  puzzles  us  here, 
Where  the  glare  and  the  glitter  and  tinsel  of  Time 
Fade  and  die  in  the  light  of  that  region  sublime, 
Where  the  soul,  disenchanted  of  flesh  and  of  sense, 
Unscreened  by  its  trappings  and  shows  and  pretense, 
Must  be  clothed  for  the  life  and  the  service  above, 
With  purity,  truth,  faith,  meekness  and  love." 
428 


APPENDIX 

There  hang  now  in  this  chamber  and  the  entrance  corridor 
portraits  of  jurists  and  members  of  the  Bar  representing  the 
long  line  from  the  day  of  Jay,  Kent  and  Van  Vechten  to  ours, 
whose  names  are  so  familiar  of  the  legal  page,  but  whose  faces, 
except  the  few  that  live  in  our  memories  are  known  to  us  only 
because  their  portraits  adorn  these  walls.  It  is  fitting  that 
William  Allen  Butler  should  be  added  to  these  Judges  and  advo 
cates  of  old  time  by  whom  we  are  surrounded  from  the  moment 
we  cross  the  outer  threshold. 

"A  silent  multitude — and  thus 
No  message  comes  from  them  to  us, 
Yet,  like  a  tuneful  requiem, 
A  greeting  goes  from  us  to  them." 

Chief  Judge  Cullen,  in  accepting  the  portrait  on  behalf  of 
the  Court,  responded  to  Judge  Parker  as  follows: 

"It  is  with  great  pleasure  that  the  Court  receives  the  portrait 
now  presented  to  it.  William  Allen  Butler,  whose  likeness  is 
now  before  us,  was  a  gentleman  of  great  culture  and  refinement, 
a  ripe  scholar,  and  possessed  of  literary  ability  of  a  high  order, 
but  it  is  his  standing  as  a  great  lawyer  and  advocate  that  rend 
ers  it  appropriate  that  his  portrait  should  hang  on  the  walls  of 
the  entrance  to  this  Court  room,  so  that  members  of  the  pro 
fession  of  coming  generations  may  see  how  the  man,  whose  dis 
tinction  and  learning  they  will  know  only  either  historically  or 
by  tradition,  appeared  in  the  flesh,  and  may  be  aroused  to  emu 
late  his  character  and  achievements. 

"Now,  unfortunately,  our  space  is  circumscribed,  but  we 
hope  the  time  will  come  when  this  Court  will  have  an  abode  of 
its  own  of  such  a  size  as  to  gather  in  its  halls  the  portraits  of 
all  the  great  men  of  this  State  who  have  honored  our  profession. 

"Judge  Parker  will  please  return  to  the  family  of  Mr.  But 
ler  our  thanks  for  its  gift." 

429 


INDEX 


Abolition,  societies,  68;  of  slave- trade,  74; 
growth  of  sentiment  in  North,  78;  effect 
in  South,  78;  Forsyth's  letter,  78,  79; 
Garrison  and  The  Liberator,  80;  effect 
of  sale  of  slave  wife,  82,  83;  abolition 
ists  denounced  by  Webster,  223,  226; 
attitude  of  abolitionists  on  Fugitive 
Slave  Law,  240;  on  Kansas-Nebraska 
Bill,  255;  aid  for  John  Brown,  331. 

Adams,  Charles  Francis,  190. 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  attitude  on  slavery, 
54;  on  Missouri  Compromise,  77. 

Adams,  Rev.  William,  319. 

Adelsberg  Cave,  140. 

Admiralty,  resolution  of  Bar,  424. 

Aetna,  Mount,  164. 

Ainsworth,  Captain,  of  packet-ship  Havre, 

15*.  152- 

Alabama,  The,  354. 

Albany,  N.  Y.,  William  Allen  Butler  born 
at,  7;  Yonker  Street,  7;  friends  at, 
21 ;  Dr.  Sprague,  27;  Congress  Hall 
Hotel,  29;  Benjamin  Franklin  Butler 
leaves,  33;  letter  from  citizens,  44. 

Albany  Academy,  29. 

"Albany  Regency,"  37,  38. 

Alexander  de  Alva  S.,  political  history  of 
New  York,  38. 

Allen,  Howard,  9. 

Allen,  Harriet  (Butler).  See  Butler,  Harriet 
Allen  (William  Allen  Butler's  mother). 

Allen,  Lydia,  9. 

Allen,  Mary  (Macy),  62. 

Allen,  William  Henry,  10. 

Allen,  William  Howard,  William  Allen 
Butler  named  for,  9;  family  and  home, 
9;  career  in  navy,  10-13;  death  and 
memorials,  13-15;  Halleck's  poem,  14; 
William  Allen  Butler's  address  on,  15; 
friend  of  Captain  Levy,  317. 

American  Art  Union,  236-239. 


American  Bar  Association,  403,  420. 

Anderson,  Major  Robert,  342,  347. 

ANECDOTES:  Confederate  veteran  and 
son,  5;  saddle-horse  Diamond,  8;  the 
shad  in  the  spring,  19;  Delavan  suit 
and  controversy,  23-25;  petition  to 
hang  Dr.  Sprague,  27;  E.  E.  Sprague, 
name  and  initials,  28;  Benjamin  Frank 
lin's  saw-dust  pudding,  46-48;  entry  of 
Supreme  Court  Justices,  49;  William 
Wirt's  hair,  52;  Lafayette's  wig,  63; 
John  Smothers,  the  slave  employee,  81; 
sale  of  slave  wife,  82;  "Boz,"  93;  The 
Weller  "V,"  100;  loquacious  fellow- 
passenger,  119;  told  by  Andrew  Jack 
son,  123;  his  call  on  Mrs.  Clay,  125; 
Frelinghuysen  a  "bird,"  141;  shooting 
an  ibis,  157;  The  Queen's  English,  158; 
Pompeian  Hotel  notice,  162;  passports 
in  Sicily,  166;  told  by  Samuel  Rogers, 
176-182;  the  Persian  and  the  sun,  176; 
Benjamin  West  and  the  baby,  180;  the 
disappointed  lady's  poem,  180;  a  lady's 
"no"  means  "yes,"  181;  Sir  Walter 
Scott  and  the  button,  181;  Lincoln  at 
Five  Points,  333;  Lincoln's  cabinet, 
343;  Civil  War  incidents,  348,  349;  in 
Holt  Memorial,  399-401;  William  Al 
len  Butler's  Bible  knowledge,  401-403. 

Antietam,  363. 

"Argonauts,  The  New,"  202. 

Argyle,  Duke  of,  354. 

Appleton,  William  H.,  349. 

Appellate  Division  Memorial,  417. 

Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister,  124. 

Aries,  156. 

Association  of  the  Bar.  See  Bar  Associa 
tion,  American  Bar  Association. 

Astor  Library,  324. 

"At  Richmond,"  306. 

Avignon,  156. 


431 


INDEX 


Baldwin,  Justice  Henry,  50. 

Baltimore,  visited,  47;  in  campaign  of 
1844,  140;  convention  of  1852,  241. 

Bancroft,  George,  Secretary  of  Navy,  149; 
minister  to  England,  149;  in  London, 
174;  Mrs.  Bancroft's  letter  about  Sam 
uel  Rogers,  182;  in  New  York,  304;  in 
Washington,  412. 

Barker,  Jacob,  15. 

Bar  Association,  William  Allen  Butler's 
address  on  Revision  and  Revisers,  7; 
Holt  Memorial,  391;  William  Allen 
Butler  one  of  the  founders,  403;  Presi 
dent  of  New  York  and  American  Bar 
Association,  403,  420. 

Barbour,  William,  196. 

Barn  Burners,  The,  189,  241. 

Barney,  Hiram,  partnership  with,  211; 
takes  Lincoln  to  Five  Points,  333;  ap 
pointed  collector,  349;  resigned,  350; 
Emancipation  Proclamation  read  to, 
352;  Holt  Memorial,  393. 

Barney,  Butler,  and  Parsons,  212. 

Barney,  Humphrey,  and  Butler,  212. 

Barnum,  P.  T.,  Jenny  Lind,  233. 

"Barnum's  Parnassus,"  235. 

Bates,  Edward,  336,  343. 

Beaureguard,  General,  347. 

Bell's  tavern,  140. 

Bell,  John,  337. 

Benedict,  Robert  D.,  424. 

Berlin,  173. 

Benton,  Thomas  H.,  299. 

Bethune,  Rev.  George  W.,  319. 

Bible,  New  York  Bible  Society  meeting, 
370;  William  Allen  Butler's  knowledge 
of,  401-403;  "Bible  by  itself,"  412. 

Bidwell,  Marshall  S.,  319. 

Biggar  cases,  193-195. 

Black,  Jeremiah  S.,  340. 

Black  Ball  Line,  62,  228. 

Elack  Warrior  affair,  266. 

"  Bleeding  Kansas."     See  Kansas. 

Booth,  Alfred,  247. 

Booth,  Lydia  Allen  (Butler),  247,  318. 

Border  Ruffians  in  Kansas,  255-257. 

Boston,  Anthony  Burns  incident,  271. 

"Boz,"  93. 

Branford,  Conn.,  17. 

Breckinridge,  John  C.,  Vice-President, 
3°°,  337- 


Bright,  John,  354. 

Brooks,  Preston,  assault  on  Sumner,  261; 
effect  in  North,  261 ;  action  of  Congress, 
262;  death,  263. 

Brougham,  Lord,  315. 

Brown,  John,  anticipated  by  Garrison, 
80;  Ossawatomie,  258;  raid  at  Har 
per's  Ferry,  330,  331;  "John  Brown's 
Body"  (song),  332;  raid  condemned, 

338. 

Brown  (sexton),  203. 

Bryant,  William  Cullen,  176. 

Buchanan,  James,  Secretary  of  State,  148; 
candidate,  241;  Ostend  Manifesto, 
269;  nominated,  300;  elected  Presi 
dent,  301;  character,  301,  302;  Dred 
Scott  decision,  327;  attitude  in  1860, 
339;  his  cabinet,  340;  changes,  341; 
lack  of  courage,  341. 

Bucktails,  The,  129. 

Bull  Run,  357. 

Bunker's  Mansion  House,  84. 

Burgundy,  The,  sailing-packet,  101. 

Burr,  Aaron,  Wirt's  speech,  51;  William 
Allen  Butler  sees,  84;  described,  85. 

Burns,  Anthony,  271. 

Butler,  Andrew  P.,  260,  263. 

Butler,  Arthur  Wellman,  381. 

Butler,  Benjamin  Franklin  (father  of 
William  Allen  Butler),  home  at  Albany, 
7;  reviser  of  Statutes,  7;  parentage 
and  family,  20;  Delavan- James  con 
troversy,  23,  25;  relations  with  Van 
Buren,  33,  44;  leaves  Albany,  34;  pro 
fessional  eminence,  34;  New  York  and 
New  Jersey  Boundary  Commission,  36; 
Albany  Regency,  37;  letter  from  Jack 
son  offering  attorney-generalship,  39— 
43 ;  letter  from  Albany  citizens,  44 ;  has 
slave  employee,  81 ;  episode  of  the  slave 
wife,  82;  Washington  life,  84;  at  Bunk 
er's,  in  New  York,  84;  refuses  Van  Bu- 
ren's  offer,  89;  retires,  90;  letter  from 
Felix  Grundy,  90;  attorney-general  and 
Secretary  of  War,  99 ;  United  States  Dis 
trict  Attorney,  105,  149;  Washington 
Place  home,  no;  University  of  New 
York,  no;  law  school,  in;  letter  from 
Justice  Story,  in;  Silas  Wright  and 
Van  Buren,  141,  144;  letter  from  Walk 
er,  145;  Polk  offers  war  portfolio,  146; 


INDEX 


declines,  147;  letter  of  Tilden,  147; 
Folk's  conduct,  148;  rupture  with  Polk, 
209;  resumes  private  practice,  209; 
Free  Soil  Party,  244;  death  of  wife,  246; 
connection  with  Presbyterian  Church, 
248;  verses,  250;  important  litigations, 
313-315;  helps  to  found  Free  Soil  Party, 
315;  supports  Fremont  and  Dayton, 
316;  last  appearance  in  court,  316; 
Levy  cases,  316,  317;  sails  for  Europe, 
318;  dies  in  Paris,  313,  318;  funeral 
services,  319;  resolutions  of  Bar,  320; 
Holt  Memorial,  391. 

Butler,  Benjamin  Franklin,  Jr.  (William 
Allen  Butler's  brother),  97,  231,  247. 

Butler,  General  Benjamin  Franklin, 
Massachusetts  politician,  362. 

Butler,  Charles  (William  Allen  Butler's 
uncle),  travels  with,  92,  95,  98,  99,  101. 

Butler,  Charles  Henry,  355,  409. 

Butler,  Charles  Marshall,  231. 

Butler,  Elias,  16. 

Butler,  Eliza  Ogden  (Mrs.  Charles  But 
ler),  92,  95,  98. 

Butler,  Eliza  Ogden  (Kirkbride),  98,  247, 

318- 

Butler,  Ezekiel,  16. 

Butler,  George  Prentiss,  355. 

Butler,  Harriet  (Allen)  (William  Allen 
Butler's  mother),  9,  39,  44,  246;  death, 
246;  family,  247;  funeral,  249;  grave, 
250. 

Butler,  Harriet  Allen  (Dwight),  97,  247. 

Butler,  Harriet  Allen  (daughter),  355. 

Butler,  Howard  Russell,  355,  392,  427. 

Butler,  Jonathan,  16. 

Butler,  John  Crosby,  375,  381. 

Butler,  Lydia  Allen  (Mrs.  Booth),  247, 318. 

Butler,  Margaret  Crosby  (daughter),  381. 

Butler,  Margaret  Barker  (Crosby),  247. 

Butler,  Mary  Howard  (Lord),  31,  247. 

Butler,  Mary  Marshall  (daughter),  355. 

Butler,  Mary  Russell  (Marshall)  (wife  of 
William  Allen  Butler),  dedication,  pref 
ace,  vii;  marriage,  228;  anecdote,  229; 
wedding  trip,  230;  Horace  Greeley, 
232;  journey  in  Catskills,  370;  Round 
Oak,  379. 

Butler,  Medad,  name,  16;  book  of  de 
scendants,  16;  Kinderhook,  17;  anec 
dote  19,  wife's  family,  20. 


Butler,  Notman  and  Mynderse,  212. 

Butler,  Notman,  Joline,  and  Mynderse, 
212. 

Butler,  Ogden,  92,  99. 

Butler,  Stillman  and  Hubbard,  212. 

Butler,  William  Allen,  Jr.,  212,  232. 

BUTLER,  WILLIAM  ALLEN.     General  Bi 
ography:    See  Table  of  Contents   (p. 
xi),  and  headings  of  chapters. 
CAREER  AT  BAR:    Admitted  at  Utica, 
151;    United  States  attorney's  office, 
193;    early  cases,   194;    the  Fresnel 
light,  199;    Wall  Street  office,  210; 
the  office  boy,  210;    partners,  211; 
offices,  212;    business  methods,  213; 
William  Allen  Butler's  review  of  his 
own     career,     214—216;     admiralty 
cases,    216;    Memorials:    by    Judge 
Holt,  391-416;    Appellate  Division, 
417-423;     United     States     District 
Court,  424-426;   by  Judge  Parker, 
in  Court  of  Appeals,  427-429. 
LETTERS.     See  Letters,  in  Index. 
SCHOOL  AND  COLLEGE:   Albany  Acad 
emy,  29;    Greenbush  and  Schodack 
Academy,  29,  30;   Georgetown,  Silas 
Hill,  62;   James  McVean,  62;   Hud 
son,  Cyrus  Huntington,  62;  Univer 
sity  Grammar  School,  86,  116;  Uni 
versity  of  N.  Y.,  116;   class  of  1843, 
117. 

POEMS:  Class  Poet,  112;  "The  Future," 
112;  "Our  Fifty-fifth,"  115;  "The 
Wanderer,"  153;  "Vaucluse,"  156; 
Titian's  "Assumption,"  172;  "The 
Inversnaid  Inn,"  184;  "The  New 
Argonauts,"  202;  "The  Carnival  of 
1848,"  202;  "The  Sexton  and  the 
Thermometer,"  203,  406;  "Barnum's 
Parnassus,"  235;  "Sea  Scribblings," 
235;  "Nothing  to  Wear,"  history, 
274;  reviews,  284;  poem,  288;  quota 
tions,  414,427,428;  "At  Richmond," 
307;  "Two  Millions,"  310,  411,414; 
Lines  on  the  death  of  F.  B.  C.,  359; 
"Home  Poems,"  380;  "Tom  Twist," 
381;  "Somebody,"  381,  408;  quota 
tions  from  "Dobbs  His  Ferry,"  406; 
"A  Golden  Wredding,"4O9;  "Gen 
eral  Average,"  410;  "  Our  Mother 
Church,"  415;  "Nothing  to  Wear 


433 


INDEX 


and  other  Poems" — edition  of  1871, 
310;  edition  of  1898,  185. 
TRAVELS:  Trip  to  Utica,  31;  to  Wash 
ington,  46;  to  Europe  in  1838,  92; 
descriptions,  95;  return  voyage 
broken  up,  100;  Ireland,  101;  Pom 
peii,  102;  Genoa,  104;  trip  to  the 
Hermitage,  118;  by  stage  coach  re 
turn  trip,  120;  Mammoth  Cave,  140; 
to  Europe,  in  1846,  151;  views  on 
travel,  152;  Caen,  154;  Paris,  155; 
Southern  France,  156;  Italy,  Genoa, 
157;  trip  up  Vesuvius,  159,  162; 
Sicily,  164;  Rome,  168;  Americans 
in,  170;  Florence,  Venice,  171,  172; 
Berlin,  173;  Scotland,  183,  184; 
writes  for  The  Literary  World,  184; 
185;  returns  via  Boston,  185;  trip 
to  Richmond,  306. 

WORKS:  "The  Book  of  the  Family 
and  Lineal  Descendants  of  Medad 
Butler,"  161;  "Mrs.  Limber's  Raf 
fle,"  239,  412;  "Martin  Van  Buren, 
Lawyer,  Statesman,  and  Man,"  368; 
"  The  Relations  between  Lawyer 
and  Client,"  412;  "Domesticus," 
412;  "The  Bible  by  Itself,"  412; 
Contributions  to  Democratic  Review, 
112,  185;  to  Literary  World,  185;  to 
Harper's  Weekly,  282. 
Butler,  William  Allen,  Jr.,  212,  232. 
Butler,  Mrs.  William  Allen.  See  Butler, 

Mary  Russell  (Marshall). 
Caen,  154,  155. 
Caffe  Greco,  Rome,  170. 
Calderon,  Senor,  266. 
Calhoun,  John  C.,  Missouri  Compromise, 
77;  nullification,  133;   Jefferson  dinner 
toast,    134;    Secretary   of    State,    143; 
last  appearance,  219;  funeral,  230. 
California,  ceded  by  Mexico,   186;    gov 
ernment  for,    188;    discovery  of  gold, 
195;   "The  New  Argonauts,"  202. 
Cameron,  Simon,  336,  343. 
Capri,  162. 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  174. 
Cases,  reviewed  in  memorials,  393-399, 
418,  419,  424—426.     See  Career  at  Bar. 
Cass,  Lewis  A.,  42 ;  in  Paris,  99;  nomina 
tion  and  defeat,  190;    candidate,  241; 
Secretary  of  State,  340. 


Chamberlin,  Lydia,  29,  30,  62. 

Chamberlin,  Nathan,  62. 

Chancellorsville,  359. 

Channing,  William  E.,  273. 

Charleston,  S.  C.,  342. 

Chase,  Salmon  P.,  abolitionist,  240;  Fre~ 
Soil  Party,  244;  opposes  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Bill,  255;  candidate,  336;  in 
cabinet,  343,  350. 

Chicago  Gas  Trust,  reorganization  case, 
419. 

Choate,  Rufus,  131. 

"Church,  Our  Mother,"  poem,  415.  See 
Presbyterian  Church. 

Cilley,  Jonathan,  86. 

Civil  War,  as  observed  by  William  Allen 
Butler,  5;  causes  and  commencement 
of,  329,  330;  anecdotes,  348;  brief  re 
view,  350-354;  progress  of,  357-359; 
volunteers,  358;  death  and  grief,  359; 
cost  and  results,  364;  progress  of,  368; 
effect  on  election  of  1864,  369;  Appo- 
mattox,  372. 

Civita  Vecchia,  158. 

Class  of  1843,  list  °f  members,  113;  class 
dinners,  114;  resolution,  114,  115; 
fifty-fifth  reunion,  115.  See  Univer 
sity  of  New  York. 

Clay,  Henry,  attitude  on  slavery,  75;  the 
Missouri  Compromise,  76;  candidate, 
106;  relations  with  Jackson,  125;  Mrs. 
Clay,  125,  126;  Texas,  143;  Polk,  144; 
returns  to  Senate,  218;  Wilmot  Pro 
viso,  219;  compromise  of  1850,  226. 

Clinch,  Charles  P.,  129. 

Clinton,  De  Witt,  38,  128,  130. 

Cobb,  Howell,  340. 

Cobden,  Richard,  354. 

Cockran,  W.  Bourke,  404. 

"  Colonel's  Club,  The,"  202. 

Columbia  County,  365.  See  Kinderhook, 
Hudson. 

Confederate  States,  347;    and  England, 

354- 

Congress,  58.  See  Missouri  Compromise; 
Wilmot  Proviso;  Slavery;  Kansas. 

Congress  Hall  Hotel,  29. 

Constitution  of  United  States,  conven 
tion  to  form,  69;  compromises,  70,  73; 
slavery,  70-72;  compact,  341. 

"  Contraband,"  362. 


434 


INDEX 


Conventions,  Constitutional,  1787,  69; 
Democratic,  1844,  at  Baltimore,  141; 
1848,  at  Utica,  190;  Free.  Soil,  1848, 
240;  Democratic,  1852,  243;  Free  Soil, 
1852,  244;  Republican,  1856,  at  Phila 
delphia,  299;  Democratic,  1856,  300; 
Republican,  1860,  at  Chicago,  344; 
Democratic,  1860,  337;  Democratic, 
1864,  370. 

Court  of  Appeals  Memorial.  427. 

Coventry,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  B.,  31. 

Cox,  Samuel  S.,  355,  356. 

Cranch,  Christopher  P.,  170. 

Craven  Street,  175. 

Crawford,  Thomas,  170,  306. 

Crawford,  William,  H.,  10,  77. 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  16. 

Crosby,  Franklin  Butler,  359,  376. 

Crosby,  Professor  Howard,  356. 

Crosby,  John  P.,  246,  357,  375,  376. 

Crosby,  Margaret  Barker  (Butler),  247, 

357- 

Croswell,  Edwin,  37,  43. 

Crystal  Palace,  245. 

Cuba,  attempts  to  acquire,  264-270; 
Marcy  and  Soule,  264;  the  Black  War 
rior,  266;  General  Quitman,  267;  Os- 
tend  Manifesto,  268-270;  Spanish  rule 
ended,  270. 

Cullen,  Chief  Judge,  429. 

Curtis,  Benjamin  R.,  328. 

Curtis,  George,  no. 

Curtis,  George  William,  no,  170,  282- 
284. 

Cutts,  James  Madison,  304. 

Cutts,  Adele  Douglas,  304. 

Daly,  Charles  P.,  236. 

Dana,  Richard  H.,  Jr.,  271. 

Davis,  Jefferson,  visit  to  Pierce,  254; 
Cuba,  264;  Quitman,  267;  attitude  on 
slavery,  304;  President  of  Confederacy, 

347- 

Day,  Henry,  231. 
Dayton,  William  L.,  299. 
Decatur,  Commodore,  n. 
Delavan,  Edward  C.,  21-26,  42. 
Democratic  Review,  112,  185. 
Diamond  (a  horse),  8. 
Dickens,  Charles,  93,  94,  100 
District  of  Columbia,  227. 


Dix,  John  A.,  37,  43,  340. 

"  Dobbs  His  Ferry,"  406-408. 

"  Domesticus,"  412. 

Donelson,  Andrew  J.,  54,  173. 

Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  candidate,  241; 
Nebraska  Bill,  252;  popular  sover 
eignty,  253;  relations  with  Pierce  and 
Davis,  254;  amendments,  255;  Sum- 
ner's  opposition,  260;  not  nominated, 
300;  opposed  to  Buchanan,  302;  per 
sonal  appearance,  304;  attitude  on 
slavery,  304;  Lincoln  debates,  329, 
330;  nominated  for  presidency,  337; 
becomes  Lincoln  supporter,  345. 

Draper,  Simeon,  350. 

Dred  Scott  decision,  327,  328. 

Duer,  John,  8,  9,  105. 

Duvall,  Justice  Gabriel,  50. 

Duyckinck,  Evert  A.,  202,  203,  276,  322. 

Duyckinck,  George  L.,  travels,  with  Will 
iam  Allen  Butler,  151,  162,  193,  315; 
The  Literary  World,  202;  Library,  322. 

Dwight,  Edmund,  247. 

Dwight,  Harriet  Allen  (Butler),  97,  247. 

Edmonds,  John  W.,  319. 
Edwards,  Margaret,  16. 
Elmer,  Lucius  Q.  C.,  37. 
Emancipation,  352,  362-364.     See  also 

Abolition. 

Embler,  John  W.,  357. 
Emigrant  Aid  Society,  256. 
Emmons,  Hannah,  20. 
England  and  the  Confederacy,  354. 
English,  William  H.,  305. 
English  Bill,  306. 
Evarts,  William  M.,  231. 
Evelyn,  John,  3. 
Everett,  Edward,  337. 

Fielding,  Henry,  130. 
Fifth  Avenue  Bank  v.  Colgate,  397,  419. 
Fillmore,  Millard,  226,  301. 
Firms  and  partners  of  William  Allen  But 
ler,  212,  213,  394. 
Fish,  Hamilton,  319. 
Flagg,  Azariah  C.,  37,  43. 
Florence,  Italy,  171. 
Florida,  The,  354. 
Floyd,  John  B.,  340. 
Folger,  Peter,  247. 


435 


INDEX 


Forsyth,  John,  78,  79. 

Fourth  National  Bank  v.  Francklyn,  398. 

Fox,  Charles  James,  parliamentary  leader, 
61. 

Fox,  Mr.,  British  Minister,  61. 

France,  travels  in,  i  "4-156. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  46-48,  177. 

P'razier,  Sir  William,  157,  158. 

Free  Soil  Party,  organized,  189;  growth, 
192;  Buffalo  convention,  240-241; 
Chase  and  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  244; 
platform,  298;  Benjamin  F.  Butler's 
attitude,  315;  platform  reiterated,  337. 

Frelinghuysen,  Theodore,  36,  37,  141. 

Fremont,  John  C.,  nominated,  299;  Ben 
jamin  F.  Butler  supports,  316;  eman 
cipation  efforts,  363. 

Freshfield,  Mr.,  314. 

Fresnel  Lantern  suit,  198-202. 

Fugitive  Slave  Law,  enacted,  74;  Clay's 
support,  219;  Webster's,  224;  effect 
on  elections,  240;  constitutionality, 
244;  Anthony  Burns  case,  270—272; 
platform  silence,  338. 

"Future,  The,"  112. 

Garrison,  William  Lloyd,  80. 

General  Average,  410,  411. 

Geneva  Award,  354. 

Genoa,  156,  157. 

Georgetown,  D.  C.,  62,  63,  65. 

Giddings,  Joshua  R.,  224. 

Gilpin,  Henry  D.,  274. 

"Golden  Wedding,  A,"  409. 

Grace  Church,  203. 

Graham,  David,  in. 

Grant,  Ulysses  S.,  233,  369,  372. 

Graves,  William  J.,  86,  87. 

Great  Britain.     See  England. 

Greenbush  and  Schodack  Academy,  29. 

Greeley,  Horace,  next  door  neighbor,  232 ; 

anecdote,  232;    campaign,  232;    N.  Y. 

Tribune,  233;   death  and  funeral,  233; 

"Nothing  to  Wear,"  280. 
Gregory  XVI,  168. 
Grundy,  Felix,  90. 
Guadalupe-Hidalgo  treaty,  186. 

Halifax,  185. 

Hall,  J.  Prescott,  202. 

Hall,  Robert,  3. 


Hallam,  Henry,  175. 

Halleck,  Fitz-Greene,  14,  16,  129—133. 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  68. 

Hamlin,  Hannibal,  58-60,  336,  338. 

Harper,  Fletcher,  282. 

Harper's  Ferry,  120,  330. 

Harpers,  The,  274,  282-284. 

Harrison,  William  H.,  defeated,  1836,  87; 

campaign  of   1840,   106-108;    election 

and  death,  109;   office-seekers,  no. 
Haussmann,  Baron,  155. 
Hawthorne,  Nathaniel,  242,  243. 
Hayes,  Rutherford  B.,  15. 
Hermitage,  The.     See  Jackson,  Andrew. 
Hicks,  Thomas,  170. 
Hill,  Nicholas,  34. 
Hill,  Silas  (school-master),  62-64. 
Hitchcock,  Roswell  D.,  371. 
Hoffman,  Ogden,  106. 
Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  346. 
Holt,  George  C.,  memorial,  391. 
Holt,  Joseph,  340. 
Homes  of  William  Allen  Butler,  231,  355, 

356,  379.  380. 
Hoppin,  Augustus,  278. 
Howe,  Samuel  G.,  331,  332. 
Howells,  William  Dean,  284,  288. 
Hoyt  v.  Sprague,  398,  419. 
Hubbard,  Thomas  H.,  212. 
Hudson,  N.  Y.,  home  of  Aliens,  9;  school 

at,  62;   founding  of  city,  247. 
Humboldt,  Baron  von,  173. 
Humphrey,  James,  212. 
Huntington,  Rev.  Cyrus.  62. 
Hyde  v.  King,  397. 

"Ichabod,"  225. 
"Inversnaid  Inn,  The,"  184. 
Ireland,  101. 

Jackson,  Andrew,  offers  Benjamin  F. 
Butler  attorney-generalship,  39-43; 
William  Allen  Butler  sees,  52;  "Old 
Hickory,"  53;  personality,  54;  The 
White  House,  60;  Grundy  letter,  90; 
William  Allen  Butler's  proposed  visit 
to  the  Hermitage,  118;  arrival,  121; 
family  life,  122;  views  on  religion,  anec 
dotes,  123;  Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister, 
124;  Poindexter,  123;  relations  with 
Clay,  125,  126;  religious  views,  127; 


436 


INDEX 


the  New  York  toast,  128-133;  Jeffer 
son  dinner  toast,  133-134;  views  on 
Van  Buren,  134;  letter  to  a  young  man, 
135-137;  favors  Van  Buren  and  Polk, 
137;  slaves  at  Hermitage,  138;  com 
pared  with  Buchanan,  341. 

Jackson,  Andrew,  Jr.,  adopted  son,  121; 
wife,  138. 

James,  Dr.  Edwin,  23-25. 

Jay,  John,  68. 

Jay,  Peter  A.,  36. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  designs  columns  in  the 
Capitol,  49;  purchases  Louisiana,  74; 
birthday  dinner  toast,  133. 

Jennings,  Chester,  85. 

Jenny  Lind,  233-235. 

Joline,  Adrian  H.,  212. 

Jones,  87. 

Jones   v.  Guaranty    &   Indemnity    Co., 

397- 

Jones,  Colonel  John,  16. 
Jones,  Mabel,  16. 

Johnson,  Professor  Ebenezer  A.,  112. 
Johnson,  Herschel  V.,  337. 
Johnson,  Justice  William,  50. 
Juilliard  v.  Chaffee,  397. 
Juilliard  v.  Greenman,  398,  419. 

Kansas,  Kansas- Nebraska  Bill,  255; 
elections  in,  256;  "Bleeding  Kansas," 
257,302;  John  Brown,  258,  332;  Sum- 
ner's  speech,  260;  Border  Ruffians,  302; 
constitutional  convention,  303;  Eng 
lish  Bill,  305,  306;  Benjamin  Franklin 
Butler  denounces  bill,  316;  Lincoln- 
Douglas  debates,  329. 

Keitt,  Representative,  262,  263. 

Kensett,  John  F.,  170. 

Kent,  Chancellor,  in. 

Kent,  William,  in,  314,  319. 

Kinderhook,   N.   Y.,   2,   17.     See   Van 
Buren. 

King,  Charles,  314. 

King,  Horatio,  340,  341. 

King,  William  R.,  241,  245. 

K.irkbride,  Eliza  Ogden  (Butler),  98,  99, 

247.  3l8- 
K.irkbride,  Thomas  S.,  247. 


Lafayette,  General,  63,  68. 
Lane,  Joseph,  337. 


Latimer,  Mrs.,  61. 

Lawrence,  Amos  A.,  257. 

Lawrence,  Kansas,  257. 

Lawyer  and  client,  relations  between  the, 
412. 

Lecompton  Constitution,  302-306. 

Lee,  Genl.  Robert  E.,  372. 

Leghorn,  158. 

Lenox  Library,  202,  323,  326. 

LETTERS:  Benjamin  Franklin  Butler  to 
his  wife,  29,  31;  William  Allen  Butler 
to  Mrs.  Chamberlin,  30;  to  mother, 
32;  Chief  Justice  Savage  to  Benjamin 
Franklin  Butler,  35,  36;  Van  Buren  to 
Benjamin  Franklin  Butler,  39-43;  Al 
bany  citizens  to  Benjamin  Franklin 
Butler,  44;  to  and  from  Benjamin 
Franklin  Butler  and  his  wife,  44;  Vaux 
to  Van  Buren,  46-48;  Silas  Hill  to 
Benjamin  Franklin  Butler,  64;  Will 
iam  Allen  Butler's  sister  to  family,  65; 
William  Allen  Butler  to  mother,  65,  66; 
Forsyth  to  Van  Buren,  78;  William 
Allen  Butler  to  his  father,  86;  Felix 
Grundy  to  Benjamin  Franklin  Butler, 
90;  William  Allen  Butler  to  parents, 
95-98;  to  "Lizzy,"  98;  Justice  Story 
to  Benjamin  Franklin  Butler,  111-112; 
Halleck  to  William  Allen  Butler,  130, 
132;  William  Allen  Butler  to  Halleck, 
131;  Andrew  Jackson  to  H.,  135-137; 
Silas  Wright  to  Benjamin  Franklin 
Butler,  141,  144;  Walker  to  Benjamin 
Franklin  Butler,  145;  Polk  to  Benja 
min  Franklin  Butler,  146;  Tilden  to 
Benjamin  Franklin  Butler,  146,  147; 
Bancroft  to  Benjamin  Franklin  Butler, 
149;  William  Allen  Butler  to  family, 
156;  William  Allen  Butler  to  mother, 
167;  William  Allen  Butler  to  father, 
170,  171;  William  Allen  Butler  to  sis 
ter,  171,  172;  Mrs.  Bancroft  to  Will 
iam  Allen  Butler,  183;  William  Allen 
Butler  to  John  Marshall  Club,  214; 
Chase  to  Benjamin  Franklin  Butler, 
244;  Benjamin  Franklin  Butler  to 
Chase,  244;  to  Gilpin,  274;  Curtis  to 
William  Allen  Butler,  284;  Oliver  Wen 
dell  Holmes  to  Motley,  346. 

Levy,  Uriah  P.,  317. 

Lewis,  Professor  Taylcr,  112. 


437 


INDEX 


Liberator,  The,  80,  81. 

Library,  William  Allen  Butler's,  384-386. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  Free  Soil  Party,  192; 
Douglas  debates,  329;  Cooper  Union 
speech,  332;  friendship  with  Hiram 
Barney,  333;  Chicago  convention,  334; 
nominated,  336;  cabinet,  343;  Will 
iam  Allen  Butler  first  saw,  344;  inaug 
uration,  345;  Sumter,  345;  Barney's 
appointment,  349;  Draper's  appoint 
ment,  350;  Emancipation,  352, 362-364; 
re-election,  369,  370;  assassination,  373; 
Punch's  tribute,  374;  monument,  375. 

Lindenwald,  2,  109,  365. 

Lind,  Jenny,  233. 

Literary  World,  The,  184,  202,  323. 

Liverpool,  England,  94. 

Liverpool,  etc.,  Insurance  Co.  v.  Gun- 
ther,  398,  419. 

Liverpool,  etc.,  Co.  v.  Phcenix  Insurance 
Co.,  396. 

London,  England,  William  Allen  Butler 
visits,  94;  George  Bancroft  and  Samuel 
Rogers,  174-182;  Craven  Street,  175. 

Longfellow,  Henry  W.,  273. 

Lord,  Daniel,  231,  261,  319. 

Lord,  Daniel  DeForest,  31,  231,  247. 

Lord,  John  C.,  231. 

Lord,  Mary  Howard  (Butler),  31,  247. 

Lottawanna,  The,  216,  396. 

Lotteries,  237-239. 

Louis,  Philippe,  155. 

Louisiana  Purchase,  75. 

Lutz,  Stephen,  198-202. 

Macaulay,  Lord,  174. 

McClellan,  General  George  B.,  362,  370. 

MacFarlan,  Mr.,  314. 

McLean,  Justice  John,  42,  50. 

McVean,  James,  62,  65. 

Macy,  Mary  Allen,  62,  63. 

Macy,  Robert  J.,  62,  63. 

Macy,  Rev.  William  Allen,  63. 

Madison,   James,  13,  70. 

Mammoth  Cave,  140. 

Mann,  Horace,  224. 

Marcy,  William  L.,  friend  of  Benjamin 
Franklin  Butler,  34;  Albany  Regency, 
37;  Alexander's  Political  History  of 
New  York,  38;  Van  Buren  refers  to, 
43;  position  in  1844,  147;  Secretary  of 


War,  148;  candidate,  241;  Cuba,  264; 
Ostend  Manifesto,  270. 

Marriage,  William  Allen  Butler's,  228. 

Marseilles,  156. 

Marshall,  Charles  H.,  William  Allen  But 
ler  marries  daughter,  228;  William  Al 
len  Butler's  trip  to  Richmond  with,  306; 
assists  Chase,  343;  Sumter  flag,  348; 
death,  376;  memorials  of,  379. 

Marshall,  John,  Chief- Justice,  50. 

Marshall,  Mary  Russell  (Mrs.  William 
Allen  Butler).  See  Butler,  Mary  Rus 
sell  (Marshall). 

Martineau,  Harriet,  277. 

Mason,  John  Y.,  268,  319. 

Mason  and  Dixon's  Line,  57. 

Memorials.  See  Resolutions  and  Me 
morials. 

Merrimac  and  Monitor,  361. 

Metcalf,  Theodore,  155,  157,  162. 

Mexico,  war  with,  185;  cedes  California, 
1 86;  slavery  questions,  187;  Wilmot 
Proviso,  188. 

Miller,  Peyton  F.,  365. 

Missouri,  admission,  75;  Compromise, 
76;  efforts  to  repeal,  251-254. 

Monitor  and  Merrimac,  361. 

Monroe,  James,  76,  77. 

Montagu,  Lady  Mary,  130. 

Montana,  The,  216,  396. 

Moore,  George  H.,  323. 

Morris,  Gouverneur,  71. 

Morris,  Luke,  47. 

Moultrie,  Fort,  342. 

"Mrs.  Limber's  Raffle,"  239,  412. 

Mynderse,  Wilhelmus,  212,  213. 

Nantucket  Island,  9,  247. 

Naples,  158,  167. 

Napoleon  III,  354. 

Narducci,  101. 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  119,  120. 

Nebraska  Bill,  252,  253. 

Nelson,  Mr.  Justice,  36,  202,  319. 

"New  Argonauts,  The,"  202. 

Newburgh,  356. 

New  Jersey  boundary,  36,  37. 

New  Mexico,  188,  227. 

New  York,  Benjamin  Franklin  Butler 
moves  to,  84;  city  in  1837,  85;  Will 
iam  Allen  Butler's  homes  in,  355. 


438 


INDEX 


New  York  Boundary  Commission,  36,  37. 

New  York  Public  Library,  324,  326,  421. 

"Nickel  Plate"  case,  398,  402. 

North  American  Trust  and  Banking  Co. 
cases,  313. 

Northwest  Ordinance,  69,  72. 

"  Nothing  to  Wear,"  publication,  274-276; 
popularity,  277;  in  German,  278;  au 
thorship,  279,  281;  republished,  282; 
reviewed  by  Howells,  284;  the  poem, 
288;  quotations  from,  404,  413-415, 
428. 

Notman,  John,  212,  213. 

Nott,  Eliphalet,  21. 

Noyes,  William  Curtis,  314,  321. 

Nullification,  133. 

O'Conor,  Charles,  238,  314,  325. 

Ohio  River,  121. 

Old  Hunkers,  189,  241. 

Oregon,  185,  188. 

Osgood,  James  R.  &  Co.,  310. 

Ossawatomie,  258. 

Ostend  Manifesto,  268,  270. 

"Our  Fifty-fifth,"  115,  116. 

Pacific,  The,  197,  198. 

Palmer,  J.  Horsely,  314. 

Palmer,  McKellop  &  Dent,  313. 

Palmer,  Roundell,  314. 

Parker,  Alton  P.,  427. 

Parker,  James,  37. 

Parker,  Theodore,  271,  331. 

Parker,  Dr.  Willard,  231. 

Paris,  155. 

Parodies,     by     William     Allen     Butler, 

235- 

Parsons,  George  W.,  212. 

Parsons,  John  E.,  417. 

Patrici,  162. 

''  Peacemaker,  The,"  143. 

Pennsylvania,  The,  92,  396,  418,  425. 

People  v.  Vanderbilt,  395,  419. 

Pepys,  3. 

Phi  Beta  Kappa,  309. 

Philadelphia,  46,  47. 

Phillips,  Wendell,  271. 

"Pickwick  Papers,"  93. 

Pierce,  Franklin,  nominated,  241;  Haw 
thorne,  242;  elected,  245;  at  Crystal 
Palace,  245;  first  message,  251;  Ne 
braska  Bill,  254;  review  of  adminis 


tration,  264;  Quitman,  268;  Anthony 
Burns,  271;  not  renominated,  300. 

Pinckney,  Mr.,  41. 

"Pink,  Diggory,"  204. 

Pius  IX,  168,  169. 

Poems.     See  Butler,  William  Allen. 

Poindexter,  George,  123,  124. 

Polk,  James  K.,  137 ;  views  on  Texas,  144 
relations  with  Benjamin  Franklin  But 
ler,  146-148;  appointments,  149;  war 
with  Mexico,  185,  186;  rupture  with 
Benjamin  Franklin  Butler,  203. 

Pompeii,  102,  162,  163. 

Popes  of  Rome,  168. 

Popular  Sovereignty,  253,  300,  338. 

Portraits  of  Revisers,  7,  8;  of  William 
Allen  Butler,  427. 

Potsdam,  173. 

Powers,  Hiram,  170. 

Prentiss,  Dr.  George  L.,  249,  250,  357, 

375- 

Presbyterian  Church,  Jackson  joins,  127; 
Benjamin  Franklin  Butler's  connec 
tion  with,  248;  William  Allen  Butler's, 
248;  Mercer  Street  Church,  249;  mot 
to  of  Scotch  Church,  356;  poem,  "Our 
Mother  Church,"  415. 

Prescott,  176. 

Puteoli,  158. 

Price,  William  M.,  105. 

Punch,  374. 

Quakers,  72,  229,  247. 
Quitman,  General,  267,  268. 

Raffles,  239. 

Railroad  Co.  v.  Lockwood,  396. 

Randolph,  John,  58. 

Rantoul,  Robert  Jr.,  259. 

Ranney,  Judge,  402. 

Rebellion.     See  Civil  War. 

Reed,  Louis  B.,  114. 

Reeder,  Andrew  H.,  256. 

Republican  Party,  created,  299;  Fremont 
and  Dayton,  299;  platform,  300;  nom 
ination  of  Lincoln,  334-336;  platform, 
1860,337;  election,  338;  William  Allen 
Butler,  415. 

Resolutions  and  Memorials:  Class  of  1843, 
114;  University  of  New  York,  116; 
Union  League  Club,  377;  memorials 


439 


INDEX 


of  Charles  H.  Marshall,  379;  of  Benja 
min  Franklin  Butler,  320;  Holt  Me 
morial,  391-416;  Appellate  Division, 
417-423;  United  States  District  Court, 
424-426. 

Revised  Statutes,  7,  8. 

Revision  and  Revisers,  8. 

Rheims,  156. 

Rhodes,  "History  of  the  United  States," 
cited,  254,  257,  261,  265,  306,  347,  359. 

Rich  v.  N.  Y.  Central  R.R.,  419. 

Richmond,  Va.,  306. 

Rochefort,  Henri,  i. 

Roenne,  Baron  Von,  61. 

Rogers,  Samuel,  175,  182. 

Rome,  101,  167-170. 

"Round  Oak,"  380. 

Rudd  &  Carleton,  278,  280. 

Ruskin,  177. 

Russell,  Esther  Steele  (Mrs.  Lemuel 
Wellman),  228. 

Russell,  Lord  John,  175. 

Russell,  Rev.  Samuel,  228. 

Rutgers,  Colonel  Henry,  85. 

Ryer,  Captain,  185. 

Saratoga,  84. 

Savage,  Chief- Justice,  35. 

Saybrook,  Conn.,  16. 

School  and  College.  See  Butler,  William 
Allen. 

Schurz,  Carl,  76,  77,  107,  109. 

Scotch  Church  motto,  356. 

Scotland,  183,  184. 

Scotland,  The,  216,  396,  418,  425. 

Scott,  Dred.     See  Dred  Scott  decision. 

Scott,  General,  Mexican  War,  186;  can 
didate,  191;  aids  Lincoln,  346. 

Scott,  Walter,  181. 

"Sea  Scribblings,"  235. 

Secession,  339,  341,  342. 

Sedgwick,  Theodore,  154. 

Selbourne,  Lord,  314. 

Seward,  William  H.,  in  Washington,  61; 
Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  255;  "Irrepres 
sible  Conflict,"  330;  candidate  at  Chi 
cago,  334-335;  disappointment,  336; 
Secretary  of  State,  343;  opposed  to 
Barney,  350;  Emancipation,  363. 

'Sexton  and  Thermometer,  The,"  203, 
287,  406. 


Seymour,  Henry,  37. 

Shakespeare,  152. 

Sherman,  General,  349. 

Shepard,  Edward  M.,  39,  107,  109,  190, 
368. 

Sicily,  164-167. 

Sing,  Philip,  47. 

Skinner,  Dr.  Thomas,  319. 

Slavery,  effects  of,  in  Washington,  54-56; 
William  Allen  Butler's  views,  55;  effect 
on  social  life,  56;  origin  and  growth  in 
United  States,  67;  abolitionism,  67; 
northwest  ordinance,  69;  not  in  Con 
stitution,  70;  irrepressible  conflict,  72; 
Quakers,  72;  history,  73;  slave-trade 
abolished,  74;  in  Territories,  77;  slaves 
employed,  81 ;  escapes  by  Underground 
Railroad,  81;  Sumner's  speech  on,  83; 
"Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  83;  at  Her 
mitage,  138;  distinction  of  slaves,  139; 
Texas  annexation  and  effect  on,  142, 
145,  150;  Mexican  negotiations  and 
Wilmot  Proviso,  187,  188;  agitation, 
217,  218;  Clay  and  Calhoun,  218,  219; 
Webster's  speech,  221-225;  m  District 
of  Columbia,  227;  pro-slavery  aggres 
sion,  251;  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  252; 
1856,  Free  Soil  platform,  298;  efforts 
to  acquire  Cuba  for,  265-270;  Anthony 
Burns,  270;  Underground  Railroad, 
272;  anti-slavery  literature,  273;  North 
and  South,  301;  poem  on,  "At  Rich 
mond,"  307;  Dred  Scott  case,  327-329; 
Republican  platform  on,  337,  338;  real 
issue  in  war,  351;  Lincoln's  attitude, 
352;  Emancipation,  363;  Dr.  Tyng's 
speech,  371.  See  Fugitive  Slave  Law. 

Smith,  Gerrit,  331. 

Smith,  Mrs.  Samuel  H.,  91. 

Smothers,  John,  81. 

Snodgrass,  Rev.  William,  229. 

"Somebody,"  381,  408,  409. 

Sorrento,  162. 

Soule,  Nelville,  265. 

Soule,  Pierre,  264-269. 

South  Carolina,  341. 

Spain  and  Cuba,  265,  270. 

Spencer,  Ambrose,  28. 

Spencer,  John  C.,  8. 

Sprague,  Edward  Everett,  28. 

Sprague,  Dr.  William  B.,  25,  28,  319. 


440 


INDEX 


Squatter  sovereignty,  253. 

Stage-coaches,  46,  120. 

Stanton,  Rev.  Benjamin  F.,  248. 

Stanton,  Edwin  M.,  340. 

Stevenson  v.  Brooklyn  Railway  Co.,  398, 
419. 

Stillman,  Thomas  E.,  212. 

Story,  Justice  Joseph,  50,  in,  112,  310. 

Stowe,  Harriet  Beecher,  273. 

Sturgis  vs.  Spofford,  216,  395,  418. 

Stuyvesant,  N.  Y.,  17. 

Suburban  life,  386. 

Sullivan,  John  L.,  112. 

Sumner,  Charles,  speech  on  slavery,  83; 
opposed  to  Kansas-Nebraskan  Bill, 
255;  elected  Senator  from  Massa 
chusetts,  259;  attacked  by  Brooks,  259; 
assails  Democrats,  260;  Brooks,  261; 
Congress,  262 ;  character  of,  263;  Will 
iam  Allen  Butler  sees,  264. 

Sumner,  William  G.,  53,  303. 

Sumter,  Fort,  342,  347,  348. 

Supreme  Court  of  United  States,  49,  400. 

Sutherland,  Judge,  34,  36. 

Swartwout,  Samuel,  105. 

Talcott,  38. 

Taney,  Chief  Justice,  Van  Buren  refers 
to,  41,  42;  robing  of  Supreme  Court 
Justices,  50;  inaugurating  Van  Buren, 
89;  Dred  Scott  case,  328. 

Tappan,  Lewis,  211. 

Taylor,  Bayard,  235. 

Taylor,  General  Zachary,  Mexican  War, 
186;  nominated  and  elected,  190,  191; 
popularity,  192 ;  cabinet  and  problems, 
217;  death,  226;  Fillmore  succeeds, 
226;  William  Allen  Butler's  call  on, 
230;  Webster's  panegyric,  230. 

Tennessee,  139. 

Territories,  252. 

Terry,  Luther,  170. 

Texas,  Van  Buren  on,  141,  142;  revolts 
from  Mexico,  142;  annexation  treaty, 
143;  Clay  and  Van  Buren  oppose,  143; 
issue  in  1844;  Folk's  attitude,  144;  an 
nexation  and  slavery,  145;  war  with 
Mexico,  185,  186. 

Thayer,  Eli,  257. 

Thompson,  Jacob,  340. 

Thompson,  Justice  Smith,  50,  78. 


Tilden,  Samuel  J.,  letter  to  Benjamin 
Franklin  Butler,  147;  speaks  at  Benja 
min  Franklin  Butler  meeting,  319; 
sketch  of,  324;  his  will,  324;  settle 
ment,  325;  Public  Library,  325,  326; 
at  Van  Buren's  funeral  with  William 
Allen  Butler,  365. 

Tippecanoe,  108. 

Titian's  "Assumption,"  172. 

"Tom  Twist,"  381. 

Toucey,  Isaac,  340. 

Travels.     See  Butler,  William  Allen. 

Trist,   Nicholas  P.,    187. 

Turbett,  fellow-traveller,   157,    162,   164. 

Turgot,  Marquis  of,  265. 

"Two  Millions,"  309—312,  411,  414. 

Tylee,  Hannah,  20. 

Tylee,  Samuel,  20. 

Tyler,  John,  nomination  and  campaign, 
107-109;  election  and  results,  no; 
succeeds  Harrison,  142 ;  Texas,  142 ; 
"Peacemaker"  explosion,  and  cabinet 
changes,  143,  144;  Texas  annexed, 

145- 
Tyng,  Stephen  H.,  371. 

Uhland,  the  poet,   156. 

"Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  83,  273. 

Underground  Railroad,  81,  272. 

Union,  the  S.S.,  196,  197. 

Union  League  Club,  377. 

Union  Trust  Co.  v.  N.  Y.,  Chicago  &  St. 
Louis  Railway,  398,  419. 

University  of  City  of  New  York,  William 
Allen  Butler  attends,  no;  Benjamin 
Franklin  Butler  and  law  school,  in; 
professors,  112;  class  poet,  112;  class  of 
1843,  113;  class  dinners,  114;  tribute 
to  William  Allen  Butler,  114;  "Our 
Fifty-fifth,"  115;  Resolutions  of  Coun 
cil,  116. 

Utah,  227. 

Utica,  N.  Y.,  31,  151. 

Van  Brunt,  Charles  H.,  422. 

Van  Buren,  Martin,  autobiography,  2; 
partner  of  Benjamin  Franklin  Butler, 
Secretary  of  State,  33;  Albany  Re 
gency,  37 ;  character,  39;  letter  to  Benja 
min  Franklin  Butler,  39-43;  relations 
with  Benjamin  Franklin  Butler,  44: 


44 * 


INDEX 


saw-dust  pudding  story,  46-48;  letter 
from  John  Forsyth,  78 ;  Saratoga  home, 
84;  elected  president,  87;  political 
career,  88;  nicknames,  88;  inaugura 
tion  and  cabinet,  89;  appoints  Benja 
min  Franklin  Butler  district-attorney, 
105;  campaign  of  1840,  105-108;  de 
feat  and  return  to  Linden wald,  109; 
Jackson  favors  him,  118;  Silas  Wright's 
letters  about,  141,  144;  not  nominated, 
141;  attitude  on  Texas,  141,  142,  143; 
stands  by  Polk,  144;  letter  from  Walker 
about,  145;  minister  to  England,  149; 
Free  Soil  nomination  and  defeat,  190; 
death  and  funeral,  365-368;  William 
Allen  Butler's  biography  of,  368. 

Van  Buren,  John,  43,  97,  99,  101. 

Van  Schaick,  Henry,  114. 

Vatican,  The,  168,  169. 

"Vaucluse,"  156. 

Vaux,  Roberts,  46,  47. 

Venice,  171,  173. 

Vesuvius,  159-162. 

Victoria,  Queen,  95,  96. 

Vienna,  173. 

Wralker,  Robert  J.,  145,  148,  189. 

Wallace,  William  J.,  213. 

Wallace,  Butler  &  Brown,  213. 

Walpole,  Horace,  4. 

"Wanderer,  The,"  153. 

War.     See  Civil  War. 

Warner  v.  Jaffray,  397. 

Washington,  D.  C.,  expenses  of  living  in, 
1834,  42;  journey  to,  46;  Fuller's  Ho 
tel,  47;  slavery,  54,  57;  social  condi 
tions,  55;  public  buildings,  58;  John 
Randolph  on,  58;  Hannibal  Hamlin 
on,  58;  entertainments  and  foreign 
ministers,  60;  Benjamin  Franklin  But 
ler's  residences,  61;  incidents,  67;  slave 
employees  of  Northerners,  81 ;  William 
Allen  Butler  revisits  in  1844,  119;  vis 
ited  on  wedding  trip,  230.  See  also 
District  of  Columbia. 


Washington,  George,  writes  Lafayette 
about  slavery,  68;  Constitutional  Con 
vention,  71;  birthday  in  Rome,  170; 
Samuel  Rogers  on,  176. 

Watson,  William  H.,  n. 

Webster,  Daniel,  Van  Buren  refers  to, 
41;  defeated  for  presidency,  87;  bets 
with  Rufus  Choate,  131;  politics  and 
views  on  Texas,  220;  Wilmot,  Proviso 
220;  "  Seventh  of  March  Speech,"  221; 
effect  of,  224;  "Ichabod,"  225;  attacks 
abolitionists,  Secretary  of  State,  226; 
attitude  on  slavery,  227;  panegyric  on 
Taylor,  230;  again  in  cabinet,  259. 

Weed,  Thurlow,  38,  334,  335,  350. 

Wellman,  Fidelia  (Mrs.  Charles  H.  Mar 
shall),  228. 

Wellman,  Dr.  Lemuel,  228. 

Westminster  Review,  277. 

W^etmore,  Prosper  M.,  237. 

Wheaton,  Henry,  173. 

White  House,  The,  60. 

White,  Hugh  L.,  87. 

Whittier,  John  Greenleaf,  225,  273,  307. 

Willard's  Hotel,  47. 

Wilmot,  David,  author  of  Proviso,  187; 
Mexican  session  and  slavery,  188;  re 
newed,  218;  Clay's  opposition,  219. 

Wilson,  Henry,  "Rise  and  Fall  of  Slave 
Power,"  cited,  68,  258,  263. 

\Vilson,  James  Grant,  13. 

Wirt,  William,  41,  50-52,  78. 

Wise,  Henry  A.,  143. 

Woodbury,  Justice  Levi,  42,  no. 

Wright,  Silas,  Albany  Regency,  37;  let 
ters  to  Benjamin  Franklin  Butler,  141, 
144;  Governor,  144;  death,  145. 

Works.     See  Butler,  William  Allen. 

Yale  College,  228. 

Yonker  Street,  7. 

Yonkers,  William  Allen  Butler  moves  to, 
379,  380;  his  life  at,  387;  surburban 
life,  387;  interest  in  Yonkers,  413-421; 
speeches,  415. 


442 


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